Overview
- The court reserved judgment after hearing all sides and declined to grant interim relief, so the Lokpal’s November 12 sanction remains in place for now.
- Moitra’s plea seeks to set aside the sanction that enables a CBI chargesheet, alleging her submissions were invited and then disregarded in violation of natural justice.
- Additional Solicitor General S V Raju argued Moitra had no statutory right to an oral hearing under the Lokpal Act but was still allowed to file comments, affidavits and make oral submissions.
- Moitra’s counsel cited Section 20 provisions to claim the Lokpal should have considered her material and the possibility of closure before granting sanction.
- The CBI’s case stems from a March 21, 2024 FIR and a July report alleging she took cash and gifts from Darshan Hiranandani for parliamentary questions and shared her Lok Sabha login credentials, following a complaint by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.