The Delhi High Court on Friday granted the Lokpal of India an additional two months to decide whether to sanction the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a chargesheet against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in connection with the alleged cash-for-query scam. However, the court made it clear that no further extension of time would be allowed.
A bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar passed the order after noting that neither the CBI nor Moitra’s legal team opposed the Lokpal’s request for more time.
“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.
The court’s direction comes after it had, on December 19, 2025, quashed the Lokpal’s earlier decision from November 2025 granting sanction to the CBI to proceed with a chargesheet. The High Court held that the Lokpal had committed a procedural error, observing a “clear departure” from the mandate of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.
The court had then directed the Lokpal to reconsider the matter strictly under Section 20 of the Act and to complete the process within a month.
The controversy centres on allegations that Mahua Moitra accepted cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for raising questions in Parliament that served his business interests. The accusations include compromising parliamentary privilege and sharing her official Lok Sabha login credentials, raising potential national security concerns.
The CBI registered an FIR in the case on March 21, 2024, following a reference from the Lokpal. The agency filed its preliminary report with the Lokpal in July 2025, prompting the body to consider granting prosecution sanction.
Moitra, who represents the Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, challenged the Lokpal’s initial sanction order, leading to the High Court’s December verdict.
She has consistently denied wrongdoing, while the matter continues to stir political and legal debate over parliamentary conduct and investigative accountability.
