The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra to a plea filed by advocate Jai Dehadrai in connection with the custody battle over a pet Rottweiler dog named Henry..Dehadrai has challenged a trial court's decision to dismiss his petition to reject Moitra's plea for shared custody of the dog.Appearing in person before a High Court Bench comprising Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri, Dehadrai, today urged the Court to hear the matter before April 29, when a connected appeal filed by Moitra is listed next. .Dehadrai argued that his plea goes to the root of the dispute at hand and should, therefore, be heard first. He also urged the High Court to stay trial court proceedings in the matter."The same date that my rejection of plaint application is dismissed, the Order 39 (interim injunction) application under Civil Procedure Code is also dismissed in my favour. Trial court gives a finding that there is no contract. I want a stay on the trial court proceedings," he said. "Not in their (Moitra's) absence please," the Court replied. "Please issue notice. It goes to the root of the suit. Their (Moitra's) appeal is (listed) on April 29. I am going to the root of the suit, please grant me a date prior to April 29," Dehadrai submitted. .When July 27 was proposed for the next date of hearing, Dehadrai added,"That is complete injustice to me. They (Moitra) asked for a short date and were given by court. This goes to the substratum.""I gave you (Dehadrai is a party to Moitra's appeal) a short date. You gave consent, you were there (as a respondent in the connected appeal)," the Court pointed out. "I did not give consent. My application has to be heard first. This is injustice to me. My Lord, please issue notice," Dehadrai maintained. The Court proceeded to issue notice in the matter and, thereby, sought Moitra's response. It posted the case for further hearing on May 14.The plea was earlier listed before a Bench led by Justice Anish Dayal, who recused from hearing the case on February 26. .The matter pertains to an ongoing custody battle over pet dog Henry, which is pending before a Saket court. A plea by Dehadrai to dismiss Moitra's suit in the matter was dismissed by the trial court, prompting him to approach the High Court for relief. The connected appeal filed by Moitra mentioned in today's hearing is tied to the trial court's November 2025 refusal to grant her Henry's interim custody for 10 days every month.Another plea by Dehadrai challenging a trial court order that restrains him from publicising the ongoing custody battle is also pending before the High Court..Dehadrai and Moitra have been engaged in a series of legal battles for the past few years.Dehadrai had earlier alleged that Moitra accepted bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey also filed a complaint before the Lok Sabha Speaker about the same.Based on these allegations, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee suggested Moitra’s removal from the lower house, following which she was expelled from the parliament on December 8, 2023.Moitra rebuffed the allegations saying that that Hiranandani is her friend and there has been no quid pro quo. She said that allegations are part of political vendetta.On the other hand, Dehadrai and Dubey claimed that Moitra gave complete access to her online Lok Sabha account to Hiranandani who used the same to post parliamentary questions of his liking.Moitra subsequently sued Dehadrai and Dubey for defamation. However, the TMC leader’s plea for interim injunction was rejected by the High Court in March 2024.It held that the allegations that Moitra shared her parliamentary login credential with Darshan Hiranandani and received gifts from him were not "totally false”.This matter is still pending before the Court..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
