Lokpal gets more time for sanction to prosecute Moitra

The Delhi High Court on Friday extended by two months the time given to the Lokpal to consider, according to law, the issue of granting sanction to the CBI to file a chargesheet against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the alleged cash-for-query scam.

A bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, however, said no further request for extension of time would be entertained.

The lawyers appearing for the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said they were not opposing the Lokpal’s request for extension of time by two months.

“The period of disposal is extended by two months while observing that no further request for extension of time will be entertained,” the bench ordered.

On December 19, 2025, the high court set aside a November order of the Lokpal granting sanction to the CBI to file the chargesheet against Moitra and asked it to consider the issue of sanction under Section 20 of the Lokpal Act, strictly in accordance with provisions, within a period of one month.

In the judgment, the court had said there was a “clear departure” from the procedure expressly mandated under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, and the Lokpal had erred in its understanding and interpretation of the provisions of the Act.

The cash-for-query scam pertains to the allegation that Moitra had asked questions in the Lok Sabha in exchange for cash and gifts from a businessman.

Moitra is a two-time TMC MP from Krishnanagar in West Bengal.

The verdict came on a plea by Moitra challenging the November 12, 2025, order of the Lokpal granting sanction to the CBI to file a chargesheet against her in the alleged cash for query scam.

The CBI in July 2025 submitted its report to the Lokpal in connection with the alleged cash-for-query scam case involving Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

The agency registered an FIR on March 21, 2024, against the two under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act on a reference from the Lokpal.

It was alleged that Moitra indulged in corrupt practices, including, but not limited to, taking bribes and other undue advantages from Hiranandani for “compromising her parliamentary privileges and causing national security threats by sharing her Lok Sabha login credentials.”