Mahua Moitra with her pet dog Henry (Image/Instagram)
NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday moved the Delhi high court seeking custody of her pet Rottweiler, Henry.The petition challenges a November 10 last year’s order of a Saket court which had refused her request for 10-day custody of the dog every month. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notice to Moitra’s ex-partner and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai seeing his response to the plea. The matter has been listed for hearing on April 29.Moitra has argued that the lower court’s order is “bad in law and fact.” In her plea, she stated that Henry primarily resided with her, except when she travelled outside Delhi for official duties in her constituency. During such periods, the dog stayed with Dehadrai.Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai appeared in person before the high court and submitted that the petition should be dismissed at the outset (in limine), according to news agency ANI. The custody dispute over the Rottweiler has been pending before the Saket court. Last year in September, the Delhi high court had issued notice to Moitra on an appeal filed by Dehadrai against a trial court order, which had directed him not to publicise the matter. Justice Manoj Jain had then asked Moitra to file her response, while senior advocate Sanjoy Ghosh appeared for Dehadrai. According to the plea, Moitra had earlier filed a custody suit against Dehadrai over the pet dog, Henry, which was purchased by him in 2021.The case will now be heard on April 29.
What the case is about?
The legal dispute between Mahua Moitra and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai stems from a personal fallout that later escalated into multiple public and legal confrontations.Moitra and Dehadrai were reportedly in a relationship and jointly owned a Rottweiler named Henry. However, after their relationship turned bitter and amid Dehadrai’s public allegations against Moitra in the ‘cash-for-query’ controversy, the custody of Henry became a central point of dispute. Both claimed ownership of the dog and accused the other of unlawfully taking him.Dehadrai has claimed that he purchased Henry in 2021 for Rs 75,000 and had been caring for him since the dog was 40 days old. Moitra, on the other hand, alleged that Dehadrai trespassed into her residence and took Henry without her consent.As the custody battle reached the Saket court, the trial court directed both parties to “ensure that the present proceedings shall not be publicised in any manner.” Dehadrai challenged this direction, arguing that the “sweeping gag order” prevented him from even disclosing the existence of the case in the public domain.
