The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal government and the Union government to file responses to a petition by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who alleges that state officials obstructed her work in her Krishnanagar parliamentary constituency and evicted her from a Circuit House during a visit.
A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana heard the plea on October 1. Moitra's petition seeks adequate protection during visits to her constituency and alleges that Nadia district administration officials evicted her from a Circuit House even though she had been allotted a room at the state-owned property.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for both the state government and the Centre. He told the court he would file responses, and urged the bench not to issue a formal notice on the petition. The bench nonetheless directed that responses be filed within a week, with the petitioner allowed a week thereafter to file a rejoinder; the matter will be listed for hearing after that.
During the hearing, the bench referred to a September 1 letter written by the MP. "We are just sharing our concern. Have you seen the September 1 letter? If a member of Parliament comes to the Circuit House, she must inform three days before?" the bench asked. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for Moitra. The writ petition also alleges obstruction of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund work in Krishnanagar; Mehta questioned the maintainability of the petition, pointing to the more than 500 MPs in Parliament.
The plea traces back to the night of August 14, when Moitra posted on social media that a large crowd had gathered outside the Circuit House raising "Jai Shri Ram" slogans after she refused to leave the premises. She subsequently wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking intervention, saying she was entitled to stay there as an MP and that district authorities pressured her to leave in the middle of the night to harass her. These are her allegations; the court has asked for the other side's responses before taking the matter further.
Sources: New Indian Express, LiveLaw, The Economic Times
A bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana heard the plea on October 1. Moitra's petition seeks adequate protection during visits to her constituency and alleges that Nadia district administration officials evicted her from a Circuit House even though she had been allotted a room at the state-owned property.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for both the state government and the Centre. He told the court he would file responses, and urged the bench not to issue a formal notice on the petition. The bench nonetheless directed that responses be filed within a week, with the petitioner allowed a week thereafter to file a rejoinder; the matter will be listed for hearing after that.
During the hearing, the bench referred to a September 1 letter written by the MP. "We are just sharing our concern. Have you seen the September 1 letter? If a member of Parliament comes to the Circuit House, she must inform three days before?" the bench asked. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for Moitra. The writ petition also alleges obstruction of Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) fund work in Krishnanagar; Mehta questioned the maintainability of the petition, pointing to the more than 500 MPs in Parliament.
The plea traces back to the night of August 14, when Moitra posted on social media that a large crowd had gathered outside the Circuit House raising "Jai Shri Ram" slogans after she refused to leave the premises. She subsequently wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking intervention, saying she was entitled to stay there as an MP and that district authorities pressured her to leave in the middle of the night to harass her. These are her allegations; the court has asked for the other side's responses before taking the matter further.
Sources: New Indian Express, LiveLaw, The Economic Times
