Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has approached the Delhi High Court challenging an order passed by a Saket Court that denied her interim custody of her pet Rottweiler, Henry, in an ongoing legal dispute with her former partner, advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai. The matter arises from proceedings titled Jai Anant Dehadrai versus Mahua Moitra, in which the ownership and custody of the dog are under contention.
Moitra had sought interim custody of Henry for ten days each month, but her request was rejected by the Saket Court on November 10, 2025. Hearing her appeal on Thursday, Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued notice to Dehadrai and directed him to file a response. The High Court has scheduled the next hearing for April 29. Dehadrai appeared before the court in person and argued that Moitra’s petition should be dismissed at the preliminary stage.
In her appeal, Moitra contended that the trial court’s order was flawed both legally and factually, asserting that it failed to recognise that the dog had been entrusted to her care and primarily lived at her residence. She argued that Henry stayed with Dehadrai only when she travelled outside her constituency for official duties. According to her plea, the lower court incorrectly treated payment for the dog as conclusive proof of ownership without determining who was the actual caregiver.
The petition further claims that documentary evidence submitted before the trial court, including certification from the kennel owner and records from the kennel club, supports her assertion that the dog was primarily in her custody. Moitra maintained that although the payment for the dog was made by Dehadrai, it was done on her behalf, and therefore should not determine ownership.
The custody dispute forms part of a broader and prolonged legal conflict between the two. Earlier, Dehadrai had accused Moitra of accepting bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for raising questions in Parliament. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also filed a complaint before the Lok Sabha Speaker based on these allegations.
Following recommendations made by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, Moitra was expelled from Parliament on December 8, 2023. She denied all allegations, stating that Hiranandani was a personal acquaintance and that no quid pro quo arrangement existed, describing the accusations as politically motivated. It was alleged that a majority of the parliamentary questions she raised had been posted at Hiranandani’s behest after she allegedly shared access to her parliamentary login credentials.
Subsequently, Moitra filed defamation suits against both Dehadrai and Dubey. However, in March 2024, the Delhi High Court declined to grant her interim injunction, observing that the allegations could not be considered entirely false at that stage. Those proceedings remain pending. Her current appeal concerning Henry’s custody has been filed through advocates Dhruv Malik, Kirti Raj, Rudraksh Mathur, and Shiven Verma.
