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Mahua Moitra could be on the verge of losing her Lok Sabha seat and facing a prison sentence of up to 3 years.
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra could be on the verge of losing her Lok Sabha seat and facing a prison sentence of up to 3 years, coupled with a substantial fine of up to Rs 5 lakh, should the Ethics Committee of Parliament establish her guilt in the cash-for-query scandal. The committee is expected to consider a draft report on the allegations against on Thursday.
Moitra stands accused by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey of sharing her Lok sabha user ID and password with Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who purportedly provided her with cash and gifts in exchange for raising questions aimed at the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dubey has asserted that the Lokpal has initiated a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into his accusations.
READ MORE: Mahua challenges CBI to probe into Adani before probing her
The Ethics Committee has unequivocally stated that Moitra’s actions were not only ethically unsound but also constituted a breach of Members of Parliament’s privileges while displaying contempt for the sanctity of the House. Additionally, Moitra may potentially face charges under the Information Technology Act for allegedly sharing her login credentials in a fraudulent or deceptive manner, actions that could be viewed as detrimental to national security and the effective operation of parliamentary proceedings.
As per available documents, it has been revealed that Moitra posed approximately 50 out of 61 questions with the apparent objective of safeguarding or promoting Hiranandani’s business interests. She also allegedly made several requests for various forms of assistance, including expensive luxury items, coverage of travel expenses, holiday expenses, and support for the renovation of her official bungalow in Delhi.
READ MORE: CBI to probe into Mahua’s Cash for Query scam, claims BJP MP
Moreover, she reportedly accepted gifts from Hiranandani, including a Hermes scarf, a Bobbi Brown lipstick, eye shadow, and even a car. These allegations have been corroborated by Hiranandani in a notarized affidavit.
The section 66 of IT Act is related to Computer related offences. It says that if any person, dishonestly or fraudulently, does any act referred to in section 43, he/she shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine which may extend to five lakh rupees or with both.
The section 43 of IT Act is related to penalty and compensation for damage to computer system. And in this section it has been mentioned that it will deal with downloads, copies or extracts any data, computer data base or information from such computer, computer system or computer network including information or data held or stored in any removable storage medium.
The allegations are that Darshan Hiranandani allegedly accessed Mahua Moitra’s login ID. This could be seen as sensitive information might have been downloaded and hence the committee has mentioned this two sections categorically.
