The Supreme Court today(October 1) has directed the State of West Bengal and the Union to file a counter in a writ petition filed by Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra, claiming obstruction in carrying out Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme(MPLADS) fund work in her Krishnanagar constituency.

At the outset, before a bench comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta(for Union and State of West Bengal) objected to the maintainability of the petition. He stated that there are more than 500 Members of Parliament, and if each comes before the Court seeking implementation of the scheme, it would cause difficulty. 

To this, Justice Bagchi shared a concern and asked SG Mehta if he had seen the September 1 letter written by Moitra. "We are just sharing our concern. Have you seen the 1st September letter? That if a Member of Parliament comes to the Circuit House, she must inform 3 days before."

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan(appearing for Moitra) sought a clarification whether SG Mehta is appearing for the State or Union, to which SG responded that he is appearing for both. The SG also requested the Court not to issue any notice as it would create sensationalism, and that the State would file a counter responding to the letters by next week.

Considering this, the Court ordered: "Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan contends that the petitioner is a member of parliament. Mr Mehta, learned Solicitor General enters appearance and seeks time to file counter. Rejoinder, if any, for another one week. Item will appear after next two weeks."

As per her plea, she seeks protection against the "concerted attempts" by the State Government to prevent her from representing her constitutents and accessing her constitutency freely and without interference. She has alleged that after the new government came to power, the petitioner's work as an MP has become impossible because she was not just recently evicted from her local accommodation at the Circuit House but was also restricted from continuing her development work under the MPLAD scheme.

Moitra has referred to the September 1 memo addressed to all MPs and MLs of the Nadia District, wherein it has been stated that "in view of recent incidents concerning the logistical arrangements" at the Government Guest Houses, Circuit Houses do not, by default, function as "dedicated residential quarters" and require requisitions for accommodation to be sent by email with a prior notice of at least 3-4 days before the proposed journey.

She has sought to quash the September 1 memo insofar as it purports to deny MPs accommodation at the Circuit House as of right and subjects the same to the discretion of the local administration.