Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai withdrew his defamation case against former TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the Delhi High Court on Thursday. Dehadrai had alleged that Moitra made defamatory statements against him in media interviews, calling him “jobless” and “jilted”. During the hearing, Dehadrai’s counsel stated that Moitra’s counsel had assured the court that she would not make false statements against him. Advocate Samudra Sarangi, appearing for Moitra, said he would seek instructions on the matter.
Justice Jalan welcomed the suggestion of a private resolution to the dispute, stating that it would be a positive step if the two sides could agree to refrain from making personal allegations against each other. Dehadrai’s lawyer then expressed his intention to withdraw the suit unconditionally, which the court allowed.
Dehadrai had initially filed the defamation suit against Moitra, seeking directions to restrain her from making defamatory allegations. He had also sought orders against media organizations to remove and refrain from publishing defamatory content against him. Similar directions were sought against Twitter and Google.
Moitra had countersued Dehadrai for defamation, but the high court dismissed her suit, holding that the allegations against her were not “totally false”. During the last hearing of Dehadrai’s defamation case on April 8, the high court had cautioned both parties against making false statements or labeling each other with derogatory terms.
