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Delhi HC issues notice on Mahua Moitra plea over shared custody of pet dog
The custody of Henry has been a point of contention between advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai and the TMC MP amid a wider dispute.
The Delhi high court on Thursday issued notice in a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra challenging a trial court order that denied her shared custody of a pet Rottweiler dog, Henry, for 10 days every month.
A bench of justice Manoj Kumar Ohri sought a response from advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai to Moitra’s petition assailing the trial court’s November 10, 2025, order and fixed April 29 as the next date of hearing.
The custody of Henry has been a point of contention between Dehadrai and Moitra amid a wider dispute that began with Dehadrai’s complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in October 2023.
In his complaint, Dehadrai accused Moitra of parliamentary impropriety, corruption, and accepting money and favours in exchange for raising questions in Parliament. Subsequently, Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that Moitra had granted businessman Darshan Hiranandani direct access to her official MP login credentials to post questions on her behalf. That same month, Dubey also filed a complaint with the Lokpal, alleging “cash-for-query” misconduct against Moitra.
Dehadrai, in October 2023, also wrote to then Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, accusing Moitra of kidnapping the three-year-old dog to “harass and blackmail” him. He stated that he had purchased Henry in January 2021 for ₹75,000 and described their relationship as “that of a parent and a child”.
In 2025, Moitra instituted a civil suit against Dehadrai seeking shared custody of Henry, claiming there was an oral agreement to that effect. In her plaint, she said she had cared for Henry and developed a deep emotional bond with him, akin to that of a parent.
As an interim relief, Moitra sought shared custody of Henry for 10 days every month, which was rejected by the trial court on November 10, 2025.
During Thursday’s hearing, Dehadrai, who appeared before the court in person, submitted that Moitra’s case deserved to be dismissed in limine.
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