Kataka: The Orissa High Court has rejected the interim bail plea of Subash Chandra Sahoo, an accounts section staffer at the District Education Office in Cuttack, after a medical document submitted in support of his application was found to be prima facie fraudulent.
Sahoo was arrested by the Odisha Vigilance on May 14 in connection with the alleged embezzlement of over ₹51.53 lakh public funds. He was accused of manipulating Human Resource Management System (HRMS) and Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) to generate fake employee profiles and siphon off salaries into unauthorised accounts.
Seeking temporary release, Sahoo filed an interim bail petition supported by an interlocutory application sworn by his wife. The application attached a letter titled “To Whom It May Concern,” purportedly written by Dr. Satyajit Padhiary, which claimed Sahoo urgently needed to undergo an angiogram procedure.
During the hearing before a single-headed bench of Justice Gourishankar Satapathy, Additional Public Prosecutor Sanjay Kumar Das presented evidence casting doubt on the document’s authenticity. Dr. Padhiary appeared before the court via video conference and explicitly confirmed in the presence of counsel for both sides that he had never issued the letter.
Observing that the document was prima facie forged, Justice Satapathy ruled that the bail plea lacked merit and dismissed it immediately.
Sahoo’s counsel, Abhas Mohanty, expressed remorse for having taken up the brief and requested the court to pass an appropriate order, including the imposition of heavy financial penalties on the petitioner. He and his associates subsequently indicated their unwillingness to continue representing the accused, prompting the court to direct Sahoo to engage fresh counsel or provide necessary instructions.
It has also sought an explanation from Sahoo and his wife regarding the circumstances under which the disputed document was produced. The matter has been posted for August 24.
