NEW DELHI: A three-member bench of Lokpal on Tuesday asked CBI to register an FIR and investigate within six months all allegations related to quid pro quo against Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra for allowing Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani to use her Parliament portal login to post at least 58 questions, all typed by him from different locations, including the UAE, US and Bengaluru.
The bench, headed by Justice Abhilasha Kumari and comprising Archana Ramasundaram & Mahender Singh, said it found allegations against the former LS MP “extremely serious” which needed a deeper probe. Lokpal has taken cognisance of the preliminary report submitted by CBI and passed the judgment after hearing Moitra’s lawyer.
It rejected Moitra’s lawyer’s submission that Lokpal had no jurisdiction to entertain the complaint in light of Section 14(2) of the Act. The complaint against Moitra was made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who cited letters from Moitra’s former companion advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai as evidence.