SC notice to Odisha government on Orissa HC reprieve to Pratap Jena in Mahanga case
CUTTACK: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice returnable within four weeks to the Odisha government on a special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Orissa High Court order that quashed the order of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Salepur, taking cognisance of offences against BJD leader and former minister Pratap Jena as an accused in the Mahanga double murder case.
The SLP was filed by Ranjit Kumar Baral, son of BJP leader and chairman of Mahanga block Kulamani Baral who was brutally killed along with his associate Dibyasingha Baral on January 2, 2021, while they were returning home by motorcycle.
The division bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta also allowed Pratap Jena (who had filed a caveat) to file counter affidavit and the parties to place on record the statements of witnesses recorded by the courts of Sessions Judge as well as Magistrate within four weeks.
The double murder case was first registered on the complaint filed by Ramakant Baral, son of deceased Kulamani. However, Ramakant passed away and his younger brother Ranjit renewed the complaint.
On September 25, 2023, the JMFC in its order said: “After going through the statements of the complainant, witnesses, and other available materials on record, it is found that a prima facie case punishable for the offences under sections 302, 506, 120 B of the Indian Penal Code is made against the accused Pratap Jena.”
After Jena challenged the order in the high court on grounds of jurisdiction, Justice Gourishankar Satapathy quashed the JMFC’s order on October 1, 2024, saying the order is not only unsustainable in the eye of law, but also the proceeding initiated against the petitioner (Pratap Jena) is absolutely without jurisdiction as his name was added as an additional accused who was not charge-sheeted even after two rounds of investigation and the Court of Sessions (trial court) had already assumed jurisdiction over the matter.
“It was the Court of Sessions who could have passed order to add the petitioner as an additional accused, but the Sessions Court had neither invoked its power nor was it moved to arraign the petitioner as an additional accused,” Justice Satapathy said.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge, Salipur convicted nine of the accused in the case and awarded life imprisonment to them on August 28, 2024. The court, however, acquitted one of the accused Arabinda Khatua due to lack of evidence.
The convicts included Panchanana Sethy, Kailash Chandra Khatua, Lalit Mohan Baral, Khitish Kumar Acharya, Chaitanya Sethy, Umesh Chandra Khatua, Bhikari Charan Swain, Malaya Kumar Barik and Pramod Biswal.
