‘Requires deeper investigation’ — Lokpal orders CBI probe against Mahua Moitra in cash-for-query case

The TMC leader & ex-MP has been accused of sharing her Parliament login credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani for cash, expensive gifts. CBI given 6 months to complete probe.

File photo of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra | Photo: Praveen Jain, ThePrint

MAYANK KUMAR, The Print, 20 March, 2024 : New Delhi: The anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal Tuesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe corruption allegations against former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, who has been accused of taking cash and expensive gifts from Dubai-based real estate mogul Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for her Parliament login ID and password.

The order in the cash-for-query case was based on the central agency’s preliminary report, which said that it had prima facie found that the former Krishnanagar MP had shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with Hiranandani and that she had also “received” expensive gifts from the businessman. 

Moitra was expelled from Lok Sabha last December on the back of a report from its Ethics Committee, which recommended the action for “unethical conduct” and “contempt of the House” for sharing the user ID and password with an “unauthorised person”.  

Moitra has appealed the action, which came on the back of a complaint made by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, in the Supreme Court.

In its order Tuesday, Lokpal said that while CBI’s preliminary investigation reveals that she had shared her credentials with Hiranandani, whether this was done “in lieu of providing various types of assistance and gifts requires deeper investigation”.  

“In conclusion, it is stated in the preliminary inquiry report that it is prima facie revealed that the RPS had unauthorisedly shared her login credentials of the Members Portal’ of Lok Sabha with Shri Darshan Hiranandani, who either provided information or posted questions directly on the Lok Sabha portal on behalf of the RPS (Respondent Public Servant). Several questions were related either directly or indirectly to the companies of Shri Darshan Hiranandani, or to sectors wherein he has business interests,” the order said.

It added that it had “come in evidence that the RPS has demanded and accepted undue advantage in the form of payments towards air tickets, certain gift items, and help for the renovation of her officially allocated bungalow in New Delhi”.

The agency has six months to complete its probe and must submit a monthly progress report.

In his complaint before both Speaker Om Birla and the Lokpal in October, Dubey, an MP from Godda in Jharkhand, said that Moitra “compromised national security” by sharing her credentials with Hiranandani, who logged in from Dubai and asked questions on her behalf.

On 8 November, Lokpal ordered the CBI to register a preliminary enquiry into the allegations — a move that is typically a prelude to a regular case. In a preliminary enquiry, the CBI can’t conduct searches or arrest the suspect, limiting the scope of its investigation to merely issuing summons.

The agency submitted its preliminary enquiry report to the ombudsman on 15 February.

Significantly, Moitra has admitted to sharing her credentials with Hiranandani but has denied receiving any monetary benefits. She has also called her expulsion from Lok Sabha a “witch-hunt”. 

‘Bribe of Rs 2 crore not substantiated, needs investigation’

Moitra has been accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 2 crore in both Indian and foreign currency for sharing her login credentials with Hiranandani in May 2021 and receiving another Rs 75 lakh before the 2019 general election.

However, the CBI admitted in its report that advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, whose allegations form the basis of Dubey’s complaint, couldn’t provide “additional or corroborative details” to substantiate this claim. Lokpal said this required deeper investigation.

“With regard to this allegation, the CBI has submitted that this allegation is not substantiated as sufficient evidence could not be collected due to the limited scope of the inquiry. An investigation is required to unearth the truth of this allegation of a serious nature,” the order said.

On the other hand, the CBI inquiry has found the allegation that Moitra sought expensive items and travel expenses from Hiranandani to be true, the order says, adding that the businessman footed the politician’s travel bill of Rs 1,69,592 when she flew from Delhi to the UAE in November 2022.

The CBI also submitted in its report that it had prima facie found the allegations that Moitra had sought Hiranandani’s help in renovating her residence as true, the order said, adding that the businessman’s in-house interior designer firm Hiranandani Construction Pvt Ltd. was sent layout plans for this.

“It is stated in the preliminary inquiry report that around the same time, the portal login credentials were shared by the RPS with Shri Darshan Hiranandani. Whether the login credentials were shared in lieu of providing various types of assistance and gifts requires deeper investigation due to the limited scope of the inquiry,” the order said.

Ethics Committee report

In its 108-page report recommending Moitra’s expulsion in December, Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee claimed that Moitra had travelled four times to Dubai between January 2019 and September 2023, and there were 47 logins with her credentials done from one Dubai-based IP address. 

The committee had also concluded that 50 out of the 61 questions asked in the name of Moitra were aimed at “protecting or perpetuating business interests” of Hiranandani.

“Therefore, Smt Mahua Moitra is guilty of unethical conduct, breach of privileges available to Members of Parliament and Contempt of the House,” the committee report said, adding that Moitra’s “highly objectionable and deplorable conduct” also prima facie has an impact on “national security”.

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)