Overview
- Lokpal moved the Delhi High Court seeking two more months to decide on sanctioning the CBI to file a chargesheet against MP Mahua Moitra.
- A division bench led by Justice Vivek Chaudhary said an extension would effectively modify a prior order and directed listing before the original bench on January 23.
- On December 19, the High Court nullified Lokpal’s November 12 sanction to the CBI, calling the procedure inconsistent with the Lokpal Act and requiring a fresh decision within one month.
- Lokpal cited the winter holiday period as a reason for needing additional time to complete the reconsideration.
- The case stems from ‘cash-for-query’ allegations involving businessman Darshan Hiranandani, with Moitra denying receiving cash while acknowledging she shared her Parliament login; she was expelled from the Lok Sabha in 2023 and later re-elected, and the CBI has already submitted its report to Lokpal.