The Orissa High Court has rejected a petition challenging the election victory of Pradeep Bal Samanta from the Sukinda assembly constituency.
The petition, filed by BJD leader Pritiranjan Ghadei, was dismissed at the very initial stage, bringing major relief to the winning candidate.
Ghadei had alleged that Bal Samant suppressed information about two pending cases under the Payment of Wages Act in his nomination paper filed before the Jajpur Road JMFC court. The High Court, however, ruled that only criminal cases punishable with a minimum of two years’ imprisonment need to be disclosed. Since both cases were primarily related to fines and not serious criminal offences, non-disclosure did not amount to a material suppression that could invalidate the election.
The petitioner also questioned the authenticity of Pradeep Bal Samanta’s Matric (HSC) pass certificate, calling it fake. The court rejected this claim outright, noting that it was based merely on suspicion without any supporting report from the concerned education board or any strong evidence.
The registry of the High Court has been directed to intimate the Speaker of the Odisha Legislative Assembly and the Election Commission of India about the dismissal.
Senior Advocate Prafulla Kumar Rath, along with Saibrat Rath, Gopal Kumar Agrawal and Rudra Narayan Parija, appeared for the winning candidate. The petitioner was represented by advocates Upendra Kumar Samal, M.R. Mahapatra, S.P. Patra and N. Samal.
