Mahua Moitra’s expulsion beyond scope of judicial review: LS Secretariat

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha secretariat on Monday told the Supreme Court that courts cannot examine the plea by former MP Mahua Moitra challenging her suspension from the Lower House of Parliament, reported Bar and Bench.

The Lok Sabha secretariat added that in so doing the court will violate the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary.

The Trinamool Congress leader , representing West Bengal’s Krishnanagar constituency, was expelled from the House on December 8 following a motion moved by Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi.

The Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee recommended the motion after it had found Moitra guilty of sharing her login credentials to the Parliamentary website with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, accepting gift, in order to ask questions in the House.

Parliament’s decision, the secretariat told the court, to expel Moitra was taken in its capacity of being a sovereign body, adding that internal procedures were followed which could not be ‘tested based on the doctrine of proportionality’, according to a report in Scroll.

The doctrine of proportionality refers to the legal principle that stipulates any administrative action or decision against any individual should be proportionate to their act.

Countering Moitra, the secretariat invoked Article 122 that says: ‘validity of any proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure’.

Meanwhile, the secretariat’s affidavit said the right of an individual to be elected and continue in Parliament is not a fundamental right.

The bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will hear the matter next on May 6, according to the report.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai were the first to raise allegations against Moitra.