SC to hear Mahua Moitra's plea over 'late-night eviction from Bengal circuit house' on Thursday

The Supreme Court will on Thursday hear TMC MP Mahua Moitra's plea alleging that district administration officials in Nadia, West Bengal, evicted her from a circuit house despite her being allotted a room at the state-owned property.

When the matter was called for hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was urged to pass over the case on the ground that arguing counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan was busy in other court.

The incident in her constituency Krishnanagar happened late at night in August.

Instead of hearing the case later in the day, the bench said it would be listed again on Thursday.

Solicitor General raises objection

During a brief hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta raised an objection to Moitra approaching the apex court directly.

“Individual issues of MPs directly being agitated before the Supreme Court? Factually also, there are inaccurate statements…,” the top law officer said.

"The matter requires an independent investigation.This has happened despite the high court already having passed a protective order. I am only praying for listing on an early date because this involves an important constitutional issue" her lawyer said.

What happened at Krishnanagar circuit house

On the night of August 14, Moitra claimed in a social media post that a large crowd had gathered outside the circuit house, shouting "Jai Shri Ram" slogans after she refused to leave the premises.

She wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, seeking his intervention in the Nadia district administration's alleged attempt to force her to vacate a circuit house after she was initially allotted a room at the state-owned property.

The Krishnanagar MP had also threatened to move court over the alleged harassment.

Moitra alleges harassment by district officials

Moitra, who had moved into the circuit house in Krishnanagar for an overnight stay following a Parliament session, asserted that she was entitled to stay there as an MP but was pressured by district authorities to move out in the middle of the night with the intent to harass her.

She claimed in her letter to the Lok Sabha speaker that nobody conveyed anything to her when she made the booking and no one informed her about the booking embargo when she checked in.

The MP said the premises, opposite the bungalows of both the district superintendent of police and the district magistrate, are supposed to be a secure area where no crowds can gather, let alone a lynch mob.