Cash-for query case: Mahua Moitra seeks right to cross-examine in letter to Ethics Committee

In her letter, Moitra insisted on the need to cross-examine Dehadrai, emphasizing, "In accordance with the principles of natural justice, I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Dehadrai."

Ahead of her scheduled hearing before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday (November 1) wrote to the committee expressing her desire to cross-examine lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who accused her of receiving bribes in exchange for asking parliamentary questions, and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who claimed that she had shared her login credentials to facilitate these questions.

In a post shared on X, Moitra underscored her intention and said, "Since the Ethics Committee deemed it appropriate to release my summons to the media, I believe it is crucial to release my letter to the Committee before my 'hearing' tomorrow."

In her letter, Moitra insisted on the need to cross-examine Dehadrai, emphasizing, "In accordance with the principles of natural justice, I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Dehadrai."

Furthermore, she stressed, "Given the gravity of the allegations, it is essential that the alleged 'bribe-giver,' Darshan Hiranandani, who voluntarily submitted an affidavit to the Committee with limited details and no supporting documentary evidence, be summoned to appear before the Committee to provide the requested evidence in the form of a detailed itemized inventory including amounts, dates, and so on."

"In keeping with the principles of natural justice, I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Hiranandani," Moitra further said.

The TMC MP also urged the committee to provide a written response and document their decision regarding the allowance or disallowance of such cross-examination, for the sake of transparency and clarity.