NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on a plea moved by TMC leader Mahua Moitra alleging leakage of “confidential information” from the Enforcement Directorate to the media in relation to a probe against her under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).After hearing the submissions of senior advocate Rebecca John, representing the former Parliamentarian, Justice Subramonium Prasad said, the order on the plea will be delivered on Friday.John argued that Moitra was being “hounded”, and information on issuance of summons to her by the agency was published by the media even before she received them.The high court said that as of now, there was nothing as the news report in question made factual assertions.”That is news. You are a public person. It is only a factual assertion…As of now, there is nothing,” the court remarked.Moitra’s counsel said she was not against the right of the agency to carry out any investigation but such media leaks were prejudicial to her.”It is about information being leaked prior to it being communicated to me. (If there is no press release) ED is drip feeding sensitive and confidential information about me.”During the hearing, a counsel representing a news agency said, Moitra was a public official facing a probe for allegations that are in public domain, thus making it a matter of public debate.He opposed the contentions of John, saying media reports are based on sources and there was no “leakage” from its end.As per the contentions of Moitra’s plea, the ED has leaked “confidential, half-baked, speculative/unconfirmed information to the media concerning the ongoing proceedings /investigation” and “thereby compromising the investigation.” “Such leakage of information has hampered the process of the investigation and also violated the rights of the Petitioner such as privacy, dignity of the individual concerned as well as her right to fair investigation,” it read.It was reported in the media that the ED had issued summons to Moitra last week and asked her to appear before it on February 19 in a FEMA contravention case.Mahua’s statement will be recorded under the provisions of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) once she deposes, as per the reports.
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