New Delhi: While hearing a defamation suit against lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai on Wednesday (April 24), the Delhi high court said he cannot be “trigger-happy” in alleging that the complainant in the suit was hatching a conspiracy against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The allegations of conspiracy against the prime minister cannot be made irresponsibly and needs to be based on cogent and substantial reasons,” Justice Jasmeet Singh said according to LiveLaw.
Biju Janata Dal MP Pinaki Misra filed a defamation suit against Dehadrai alleging that the latter had made oblique posts about him on X (formerly Twitter) and that he made “per se defamatory” statements against him in two interviews.
Misra also alleged that Dehadrai claimed that he and former Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra were conspiring against Modi.
The high court said these allegations amounted to those of treason.
“When you say conspiracy against the prime minister, it is troublesome. You can’t be trigger happy … conspiracy against the prime minister is an offence against the state, [it is] treason,” PTI quoted Justice Singh as saying.
Dehadrai assured the court he wouldn’t make allegations that Misra was conspiring against the prime minister until the next date of hearing in the suit, which is scheduled for August 12.
Last year, Dehadrai alleged that Moitra accepted bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions in parliament.
Moitra has denied the allegations but she was expelled from parliament after the Lok Sabha ethics committee recommended it.
In his suit, Misra also alleged that Dehadrai made allegations against him after personal differences arose between Dehadrai and former Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, LiveLaw reported.
Its report added that Misra denied Dehadrai’s allegation that he stored Rs 2 crore in cash to make purchases on behalf of Moitra.
Hiranandani said in an affidavit he submitted to the Lok Sabha ethics committee that he hoped to gain support in opposition-ruled states through Moitra, and mentioned that she “shared close relations” with Misra.
“I also felt that, through [Mahua], I would get support in other states ruled by the opposition, because she bonded extremely well with other leaders of the opposition like Sh. Gandhi, Sh. Shashi Tharoor and Sh. Pinaki Mishra, with whom also she shared close relations,” the Indian Express cited his affidavit as saying.
