No one is victim or perpetrator: Delhi High Court on Jai Dehadrai defamation suit against Mahua Moitra

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued summons to Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and former Member of Parliament (MP) Mahua Moitra on a defamation suit filed against her by advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai. .Even as Justice Prateek Jalan issued summons to Moitra, he said that this was a case where both parties seemed equally at fault and nobody can claim to be the victim or the perpetrator. “In a case of this nature, you (Moitra and Dehadrai) are both warring parties. You are neither a victim nor a perpetrator. The fact that your name comes in every Google search is really…,” the Court remarked.This case is as much Dehadrai’s doing as anybody else', the Court added.The Court directed Moitra to reply to Dehadrai's interim relief plea to restrain her from making defamatory allegations against him by April 1. However, it did not pass any direction on interim relief after Dehadrai did not press for the same..The Court also issued summons on the suit as well as notice on interim relief plea to media houses like India Today, CNN News 18, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Gulf news, Google and X (formerly twitter). The case will be heard next on April 8..Dehadrai and Moitra were in a relationship but parted ways later. It was based on Dehadrai’s allegations that Moitra was suspended from the Lok Sabha.The lawyer had alleged that Moitra accepted bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey filed the complaint before the Lok Sabha Speaker.Moitra also made counter allegations against Dehadrai claiming that he was a jilted lover which was the reason why he was getting back at her by raising false claims.Dehadrai in his plea contended that after he filed the complaint against Moitra, she embarked on a ceaseless campaign of slander and abuse, utilizing various social media platforms and mainstream media outlets to disseminate false, abusive, and defamatory statements against him.He alleged that Moitra called him 'jobless' and 'jilted' and that defamatory allegations against him were carried by various media outlets..Advocate Raghav Awasthi appeared for Dehadrai and stated that he was losing clients because of Moitra’s allegations and the allegations were affecting his professional career.Awasthi submitted that his allegations against Moitra have been proved in the Parliamentary Committee Report as well as the order of the High Court in Moitra’s defamation case against Dehadrai and the Lokpal proceedings.“I was subjected to a barrage of abuse online following the defamatory allegations. There is now a finding of the High Court as well as Parliamentary Ethics Committee and Lokpal... The suit against me was in light of the allegations made against me. Now, there is no justification for these allegations. I am losing my clients,” Awasthi submitted..The Court said that the alleged defamation in the case is more than two months old and, therefore, the Court will give the opportunity to Moitra to file a response.As the Court was passing the order, Dehadrai addressed the Court personally and said that some of the allegations made by Moitra against him are “extremely humiliating”.The Court responded by saying that this is a case where half the battle is fought inside the court and half of the battle is elsewhere.It then proceeded to issue summons and notices to Moitra and the media houses.Justice Jalan recorded that Dehadrai had not pressed his application for interim relief today.In its order, the Court said that the matter will be placed before the judge in-charge of the Original Side (Justice Prathiba M Singh) for appropriate directions as to whether this suit shall also be placed before the same judge who is seized of the defamation case filed by Moitra against Dehadrai..In his suit, Dehadrai has argued that Moitra made several defamatory allegations against him and gave interviews to the media alleging that he (Dehadrai) is “jobless” and “jilted” and these allegations are defamatory.He has, therefore, sought directions to restrain Moitra from making the defamatory allegations against him.The ₹2 crore defamation suit has also sought orders against media organisations CNN News 18, India Today, Gulf News, The Guardian and The Telegraph to take down the defamatory content against him and not to publish such content against him.Similar directions have also been sought against X (earlier Twitter) and Google.Advocate Raghav Awasthi appeared for Moitra. The defamation suit was filed through advocate Mukesh Sharma.Advocate Samudra Sarangi represented Mahua Moitra..Notably, earlier Moitra had sued Dehadrai and Dubey for defamation. However, the TMC leader’s plea for interim injunction was rejected by the High Court.It held that the allegations that Moitra shared her parliamentary login credential with Darshan Hiranandani and received gifts from him were not "totally false”.