New Delhi, March 10 The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the response of Mahua Moitra in a plea filed by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, seeking to reject Moitra's lawsuit for joint custody of the pet Rottweiler named Henry.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri issued a notice on Dehadrai's revision petition against a district court order that dismissed his plea on the issue but refused to stay the proceedings at this stage.
Dehadrai, Moitra's former partner, argued that her lawsuit was legally barred and sought a stay on the district court proceedings.
He contended that his petition addresses the core issue and should be heard before Moitra's plea for interim relief, which is also pending and scheduled for hearing in April.
The court issued a notice on his plea seeking a stay, stating that it would not issue such an order without the opposing party present.
"Not in their absence," the court said, and listed the matter for further hearing on May 14.
Moitra filed a lawsuit against Dehadrai in the district court seeking to enforce a verbal agreement for joint custody of the pet dog.
In his petition, Dehadrai stated that the district court dismissed his plea to reject the lawsuit by passing a legally unsustainable order in November 2025.
The petition stated that the dismissal order reflected a clear lack of consideration, as it permitted a suit to proceed in the absence of any legally cognizable cause of action and the existence of express statutory bars.
"The plaint attempts to elevate informal personal communications arising from a prior personal relationship into a binding legal contract. However, the Respondent does not plead any concluded agreement, definite terms, lawful consideration, or intention to create legal relations," the petition said.
"The plaint is therefore based on an illusory and speculative cause of action. Animals are recognized in law as property, and there exists no statutory regime permitting adjudication of 'custody' rights in respect of property," it added.
Moitra's plea challenging the district court order refusing to pass an interim order on joint custody of the pet is also pending in the high court.