Delhi High Court Judge Recuses from Hearing Mahua Moitra’s Plea in Zee Defamation Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday saw Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma recuse herself from hearing a plea filed by Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra challenging criminal defamation proceedings initiated by Zee Media.

During the hearing, Justice Sharma stated that she would not be able to hear the matter and directed that the case be placed before another bench, subject to orders of the Chief Justice. The matter is now expected to be listed before a different bench in the coming days.

Moitra has approached the High Court challenging the criminal defamation case filed by Zee Media. The dispute stems from remarks made by Moitra during an earlier controversy involving allegations aired on Zee News regarding her parliamentary speech.

The High Court had earlier granted interim protection to Moitra in the matter. With Justice Sharma recusing from the case, the interim protection granted to the Trinamool Congress leader will continue until the matter is taken up by the newly assigned bench.

The legal battle traces its origins to a 2019 controversy after a television broadcast alleged that Moitra had plagiarised portions of her speech delivered in Parliament. Moitra denied the allegation and later initiated civil defamation proceedings against Zee Media and journalist Sudhir Chaudhary.

Subsequently, Zee Media filed a criminal defamation complaint against Moitra over certain statements she allegedly made against the channel.

With the recusal of Justice Sharma, the High Court will now await administrative orders for reassignment of the matter to another bench for further hearing.

Discription: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday witnessed Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma recuse herself from hearing a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra challenging criminal defamation proceedings initiated by Zee Media. During the hearing, Justice Sharma stated that she would not be able to hear the matter and directed that the case be placed before another bench subject to orders of the Chief Justice. The High Court had earlier granted interim protection to Moitra, which will continue until the matter is taken up by the newly assigned bench. The dispute arises from a controversy dating back to 2019, when a television broadcast alleged that Moitra had plagiarised portions of her parliamentary speech. Moitra denied the allegations and subsequently filed civil defamation proceedings against Zee Media and journalist Sudhir Chaudhary. Zee Media later filed a criminal defamation complaint against Moitra over statements she allegedly made against the channel.