City

‘Closed-Door Meeting’ Between Chief Justice S Muralidhar & VK Pandian; Fake News, Says HC Registry

Cuttack: The Registry of Orissa High Court has rebuffed reports about purported closed-door meetings between Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Chief Minister’s private secretary VK Pandian as reported by some sections of media.

A lawyer named Advocate Srinivas Mohanty posted a photograph on his Facebook account with the caption: Chief Justice Dr S Muralidhar had a “closed door meeting” with VK Pandian and a few others, in violation of the official protocol. This was carried by a certain section of the media. In the wake of this message becoming viral on social media, the High Court on Saturday issued an official clarification.

It termed the fake news being made viral on social media as a scurrilous and sinister attempt to malign the Chief Justice and the institution of the judiciary as a whole. “It is extremely unfortunate that an item of fake news has been made viral on social media at the instance of a lawyer practising in Orissa High Court by publishing a photograph and making wholly scurrilous and false statements without knowing the real facts,” the Registry said in a press release.

“The photograph shows the Chief Justice of the High Court of Orissa speaking to a person at the head of a table with four other persons sitting in a semi-circle. The person sitting at the head of the table is Manoj Bhimani, the Managing Trustee of Sri Sathya Sai Heart Hospital. The other persons are three doctors of the said heart hospital apart from Secretary to CM (5T Secretary) V.K. Pandian. The date on which the photograph was taken was 12th March 2022 at the Satya Sai Seba Organisation, Bhubaneswar. The occasion was the inauguration of a 3-day Free Mega Heart Camp conducted by the Sathya Sai Heart Hospital of which Bhimani is the head, where Justice MR Shah, Judge, Supreme Court of India, was invited as the Chief Guest and Dr Justice S. Muralidhar, the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court was invited as the Guest of Honour and V.K. Pandian, the 5T Secretary, Government of Odisha was also invited as the Mega Heart Camp was in association with the Government of Odisha,” it clarified.

“The photograph is taken at a time when the guests were awaiting the arrival of Justice MR Shah from Puri. This was therefore not at all a ‘closed door meeting’ or a ‘private meeting’ between the Chief Justice and Pandian as has been projected. In fact, it was not a meeting at all. It was a public function by a charitable organization providing free treatment to thousands of poor children of Odisha suffering from heart ailments,” the press release said.

The Registry also shared the official invitation card for the event held by Satya Sai Seba Organisation on March 12.

After this event, Justice MR Shah visited the High Court of Orissa and interacted with the Judges of the High Court.

“It is extremely unfortunate that a sinister attempt has been made to deliberately malign not only the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court but the institution of the judiciary as a whole. Further, a certain section of the media has unfortunately carried the news item making negative comments without verifying the above facts. These facts could have easily been got verified both from the organization which conducted the programme and also from the Registrar General of the High Court before publication of such news item,” it added.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Rs 10 Lakh Offered To Families Of Fans Who Die While Returning From Ram Charan’s ‘Game Changer’ Event

Hyderabad: A month after a woman died during premiere of Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa 2: The…

15 minutes ago

Police Issue Traffic Advisory For 3-Day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas In Bhubaneswar; Details Here

Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police on Monday issued an advisory on traffic movement for three days…

26 minutes ago

Delhi CM Atishi Breaks Down Over BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri ‘Changed Fathers’ Remark

New Delhi: Chief Minister Of Delhi Atishi broke down on Monday when asked about BJP…

34 minutes ago

Odisha Govt Holds Stakeholders’ Meet On Setting Up MRO Facilities In Aviation Sector

Bhubaneswar: In its ambitious plan to position Odisha as a global aviation hub, the state…

55 minutes ago

[Watch] Kangana Ranaut Declares Herself The ‘Cabinet’ In ‘Emergency’ Trailer

Mumbai: The trailer of Kangana Ranaut starrer controversial political drama ‘Emergency’ was released by Zee…

1 hour ago

Several Feared Trapped Inside Coal Mine In Assam, Rescue Underway

Guwahati: Several people are feared to be trapped inside a coal mine in the Umrangso…

1 hour ago