Kataka: The Orissa High Court has issued notices, seeking responses from three more suspended Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MLAs in connection with petitions challenging the dismissal of their disqualification pleas over alleged cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections held earlier this year.
Justice R K Pattanaik issued the directions while hearing petitions against suspended lawmakers Arvind Mohapatra, Souvic Biswal, and Sanatan Mahakud. The court directed that counter-affidavits be submitted by the Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker, the Assembly Secretary, and the named MLAs before the matter comes up for its next hearing on September 29.
The legal battle stems from the high-stakes Rajya Sabha election in March, where BJP-backed candidate Dilip Ray defeated independent candidate and urologist Dr. Datteswar Hota. Despite receiving joint backing from both the BJD and the Congress, with the coalition holding sufficient theoretical numbers, Dr. Hota lost after cross-voting disrupted the vote share. In response, BJD leadership suspended eight of its legislators and filed petitions with Assembly Speaker Surama Padhy seeking their disqualification under the anti-defection law. However, the Assembly Secretariat issued a notification on June 19 rejecting BJD’s disqualification pleas under Rule 7(2) of the Members of Odisha Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1987. The Secretariat described the party’s applications as “cryptic, vague, and unsubstantiated,” concluding that they failed to meet the statutory verification standards required for a full hearing on merits.
Challenging the Speaker’s rejection, BJD Chief Whip Pramila Mallik filed multiple petitions in the High Court seeking to quash the notification. Represented by Senior Advocate Milan Kanungo and advocate Asish Mishra, Mallik argued that the Speaker’s summary dismissal on technical grounds defeated the underlying purpose of the Tenth Schedule. The BJD contended that the procedural defects cited were easily curable and that the Speaker ought to have directed the party to rectify them under Rule 6 instead of dismissing the petitions outright. The party further alleged that the Speaker demonstrated a “perverse approach” and a “non-application of mind” regarding the spirit of the anti-defection provisions.
Appearing for the Speaker, Advocate General Pitambar Acharya raised objections regarding the maintainability of the petitions.
This latest court directive follows similar notices issued recently in related petitions involving two other suspended BJD MLAs, Chakramani Kanhar and Subasini Jena. Petitions concerning the remaining three suspended party legislators, Devi Ranjan Tripathy, Naba Kishor Mallick, and Ramakant Bhoi, are expected to be taken up by the High Court in upcoming sessions.
