Mahua Moitra's counsel forced to withdraw for contacting advocate Dehadrai to take back CBI complaint

New Delhi, October 20

Senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing TMC MP Mahua Moitra, was on Friday forced to withdraw from the case after the Delhi High Court said it was “appalled” to know that he contacted and tried to mediate between her and an advocate she sought to restrain from circulating defamatory contents against her.

“I am really appalled. You are a person who is expected to maintain the highest professional standard. If you have been in contact with defendant no. 2 (advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai)…” Justice Sachin Datta told Sankaranarayanan.

The senior counsel – who was representing Moitra in her suit for permanent injunction and damages against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, Dehadrai and several media organizations—withdrew himself from the case after public expression of strong displeasure by Justice Datta.

A strong critic of the Modi government, Moitra is in the eye of the storm over allegations leveled by Dubey that she took bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions targeting industrialist Gautam Adani and his group.

“There is something very disturbing. There is a very serious conflict of interest. He (Sankarnarayanan) had a 30-minute call with me. He asked me to withdraw the CBI complaint in exchange for the dog (which Dehadrai was alleged to have stolen from Moitra). He can’t appear in the matter, I have the recording,” Dehadrai told the HC.

Sankaranarayanan said Dehadrai has instructed him in the past in some cases and that’s why he approached him and he told his client (Moitra) that Dehadrai was a member of the Bar and he had earlier assisted him in a case so let him speak to the latter to which she agreed.

“You tried to play the role of a mediator. Are you then eligible to still appear in this matter? It’s something that you need to answer yourself. It’s your call,” Justice Datta told Sankaranarayanan who chose to withdraw from the case.

Justice Datta posted the matter for further hearing on October 31.

Earlier, Dubey’s counsel said late last night the businessman had issued a statement alleging gifts changed hands.

Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of real estate-to-energy group Hiranandani, had on Thursday alleged that Moitra targeted Gautam Adani to “malign and embarrass” Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose impeccable reputation gave opposition no opportunity to attack him.

In an affidavit sent to Parliament’s Ethics Committee, Hiranandani admitted to using Moitra’s parliamentary login to ask questions targeting Adani. He also claimed she frequently demanded “expensive luxury items, providing support on renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses, holidays, etc., apart from providing secretarial and logistical help for her travels within India and to different parts of the world.”

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has forwarded Dubey’s complaint against Moitra to the Ethics Committee.

Moitra has said Dehadrai was her close friend and the recent cessation of this friendship took an acrimonious turn and he “resorted to sending vile, threatening, vulgar messages to the plaintiff and also trespassed into plaintiff’s official residence and stole some personal possessions of the plaintiff including her pet dog-Henry (the same was returned later). Against such actions, the plaintiff had filed two police complaints… were later withdrawn by the plaintiff on account of settlement talks”. —with PTI