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The House of the People is the sole judge of the lawfulness of proceedings before it, the Lok Sabha secretariat has submitted in the Supreme Court, defending its decision to expel Trinamool Congress (TMC) member of Parliament Mahua Moitra over alleged “ethical misconduct” of sharing her log-in credentials and password as an MP with Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
In its affidavit filed before a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, the secretariat highlighted that Moitra’s writ petition against her expulsion was not maintainable before a court of law because Parliament is sovereign in respect of its internal proceedings and that no member of Parliament can claim applicability of fundamental rights in respect of exercise of powers, privileges and immunities of the House.
Apart from being legally untenable, the affidavit added, Moitra has no case on procedural compliance or merit since she admitted that her Lok Sabha log in credentials were operated on 47 occasions during the period 2019- 2023 from Dubai by Hiranandani and his office staff.
“It is noteworthy that the OTP was shared by the petitioner on 47 occasions, and the only justification that has been provided by the petitioner in lieu thereof is that she needed ‘typographical’ assistance to type her questions on 47 occasions from someone stationed in Dubai. She has stated in her evidence before the ethics committee that she needed secretarial assistance and hence had shared this extremely sensitive and confidential information with someone stationed abroad. Such a defense is unfathomable,” said the affidavit.
As Moitra plainly admitted sharing the log in credentials, the secretariat said, the committee cannot be accused of not letting her cross-examine Hiranandani or BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey, who was the complainant in the case. “In view of such admission, the reason or motive or intention to share such Login credentials with an unauthorised person is not relevant since the matter pertains to unethical conduct of the Petitioner as a Member of Parliament,” it contended.
Justifying its decision, the secretariat further said that the ethics committee of Parliament has found “prima facie evidence of a quid pro quo” between Hiranandani and Moitra, which has been referred to the governmental authorities for investigation.
“Providing access to such confidential information available exclusively to Members and their support staff, who are authorized to access these by the Speaker, to an unauthorised personnel is a gross violation of the Rules of Procedure, as well as amounts to misconduct, unbecoming of a Member, that can be independently examined to be a ground of expulsion from the House by the Lok Sabha,” added the affidavit.
It also said that Moitra breached the confidential parliamentary processes and documents by sharing her log in credentials with Hiranandai. “Sharing credentials to the log in portal can be susceptible to potential national security hazards and can, not only render the system of the Lok Sabha to cyber-attacks, and potentially disable the system, but can also potentially cripple the functioning of the Parliament of India. These are valid concerns of national security as well as the dignity and independence of Parliamentary functioning” the secretariat maintained.
The matter came up in the top court on Monday, but it was adjourned to May.
The TMC MP from West Bengal’s Krishnanagar was expelled on December 8 over the cash-for-query charges. She alleged “substantial illegality” and “arbitrariness” by the House’s ethics committee that recommended the action against her.
Moitra, a first-time member who rose to prominence with her combative speeches in the House, was expelled over her “direct involvement” in cash-for-query charges and “unethical” conduct. The Lok Sabha expelled the TMC legislator with a voice vote amid a walkout by Opposition members, adopting an ethics committee report that recommended her expulsion for sharing her log-in credentials and password with an unauthorised person, its impact on national security, and accepting gifts and possibly cash as a “quid pro quo” from businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
She found herself embroiled in the row after BJP MP Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in September on the basis of a complaint by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai who alleged the TMC legislator accepted money and favours to ask questions in Parliament.
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