Delhi HC seeks Mahua Moitra’s stand on lawyer’s plea over custody of pet

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the stand of Mahua Moitra on a plea by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai seeking rejection of the TMC MP’s lawsuit for shared custody of the pet Rottweiler named Henry.

Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notice on Dehadrai’s revision petition against a district court’s order, which dismissed his plea on the issue but refused to stay the proceedings at this stage.

Dehadrai, Moitra’s former partner, submitted that her lawsuit was barred by law and sought a stay on the district court proceedings.

He said his petition goes to the root of the matter and should be heard before Moitra’s plea for interim relief, which is also pending and coming up for hearing in April.

The court issued notice on his plea seeking a stay, stating it would not pass such an order without the opposing party present.

“Not in their absence,” the court said, and listed the matter for further hearing on May 14.

Moitra filed a lawsuit against Dehadrai in the district court seeking specific performance of an oral agreement between them for shared custody of the pet dog.

In his petition, Dehadrai said the district court dismissed his plea to reject the lawsuit by passing a legally unsustainable order in November 2025.

The petition stated that the dismissal order reflected a clear non-application of mind as it permitted a suit to proceed in the absence of any legally cognizable cause of action and the existence of express statutory bars.

“The plaint attempts to elevate informal personal communications arising from a prior personal relationship into a binding legal contract. However, the Respondent does not plead any concluded agreement, definite terms, lawful consideration, or intention to create legal relations,” the petition said.

“The plaint is therefore founded on an illusory and speculative cause of action. Animals are recognised in law as property, and there exists no statutory regime permitting adjudication of ‘custody’ rights in respect of property,” it added.

Moitra’s plea challenging the district court order, which refused to pass an interim order on shared custody of the pet, is also pending in the High Court.