MAHUA MOITRA’S DEFAMATION CASE

MAHUA MOITRA’S DEFAMATION CASE

ISHA TRIPATHI 

BACKGROUND:

On Thursday The Delhi High Court has set aside the order staying proceedings in the Mahua Moitra's defamation case filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra against Zee News chief editor Sudhir Chaudhary. The case was filed in connection with a show on Mahua Moitra’s 25 June speech in the Parliament.

Justice Brijesh Sethi has set aside the 25 September decision of the sessions court which had put on hold the defamation proceedings against the channel going on before a magisterial court.

The TMC leader approached the high court on 10 October after the sessions court accepted Chaudhary’s plea to stay defamation proceedings.

Mahua Moitra in her plea before the high court, Moitra contended that the sessions court ought not to have intervened in the proceedings when it was at the pre-summoning stage.

CURRENT ISSUE (MAHUA MOITRA’S DEFAMATION CASE)

During the proceedings, Chaudhary's advocate had argued that the present plea is not maintainable as he had moved an application seeking immediate action against the MP for allegedly concealing relevant facts in her defamation complaint and consequently, the Sessions Court had stayed the proceedings. Chaudhary had also submitted that such an application can be moved at any stage of the proceedings.

Arguing in favour of the plea, Moitra's lawyer had argued that the Sessions court ought not to have stayed the proceedings against a "proposed" accused on his plea.

They said the application under section 340 of the Criminal Procedure Code (which gives the Court power to make a preliminary inquiry and this power should be freely used) was initially presented before the magisterial court which was hearing the defamation complaint at first.

However, The Magisterial Court had adjourned the proceedings and the hearing in the application to another date. While Moitra's lawyers said and added that against this adjournment order, Chaudhary had moved the Sessions court.

In her defamation complaint, Moitra had said that her June 25 speech was inspired by a holocaust poster in a United States museum, containing 14 signs of early fascism and that she had "clearly attributed" the source as she stated that the signs were taken from the said poster. The complaint claimed that the news channel ran a broadcast stating that she had plagiarised her "hate-filled speech" delivered in Parliament.

The order was passed by a Single Judge Bench of Justice Brijesh Sethi. While the order of stay was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Syal in a revision petition preferred by Sudhir Chaudhary against an order passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate.

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CONCLUSION:

Zee News has filed a defamation complaint against Moitra for allegedly making statements against them to the media.

While Mahua Moitra was speaking to the reporters about the allegations against, then the alleged defamatory statement against the news channel was made.

The Magisterial Court had ordered Moitra to appear before the Court on October 25^th in the defamation complaint by the channel.

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