City

HC Refuses Bail To RTI Activists Booked For ‘Fake Info’ On V K Pandian Security

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to three RTI activists accused of circulating fake and misleading information about security cover provided to BJD leader and Nabin Odisha chairman V K Pandian.

“This court acknowledges the weight of allegations against the petitioners, which prima facie establishes the accusations of forgery and misrepresentation of information obtained through the RTI Act. In the above premises, grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner would not serve the interests of justice, as there exits substantial material suggesting their involvement in grave misconduct under the alleged offences,” single judge bench of Justice Chittaranjan Dash observed on April 30.

He added that the actions alleged act not only violate the sanctity of the RTI Act but also erode public trust and reliance on the work conducted by RTI activists for promoting transparency, accountability and citizen participation in governance.

Prakash Das, Srikant Pakal and Pradip Pradhan of Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhijan (OSAA), a forum for state’s RTI activists, had moved the court after cases were registered against them at Saheed Nagar police on April 4 under IPC sections, including those of cheating and forgery, as well as the Information Technology Act.

At a press conference on March 29, the trio had claimed unprecedented allocation of security personnel to protect Pandian, citing a undated letter received through RTI from the Commissionerate Police. They said that his squad of 74 personnel outstripped even Z+ cover of 55 guards.

Following which, BJP moved poll authorities, seeking withdrawal of “unnecessary security benefits” given to Pandian.

The state police had, however, dismissed the claim stating that no such reply was supplied to any RTI applicant.

OB Bureau

Recent Posts

Allu Arjun Is The New ‘Pathaan’ Of Box-Office, Asks YRF To Break His ‘Pushpa 2’ Record

Mumbai: Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa 2: The Rule’ broke the box-office records of Shah Rukh Khan…

17 minutes ago

Two Killed In Head-On Collision Between Two Bikes In Odisha’s Balasore

Balasore: Two persons were killed and a minor boy sustained critical injuries in a collision…

26 minutes ago

Missing Minor Boy’s Body Found Packed In A Sack In Odisha’s Keonjhar

Keonjhar: In a shocking incident, the body of a missing boy was found stuffed in…

39 minutes ago

Puri Airport Under Cloud As Environment Ministry Raises Security & Ecological Concerns

Bhubaneswar: The proposed international airport in Odisha's Puri faces uncertainty as Ministry of Environment has…

52 minutes ago

[Watch] Ranveer Singh’s ‘Malhari’ From ‘Bajirao Mastani’ Recreated In Marvel’s ‘What If…?’

Mumbai: ‘Bajirao Mastani’s popular track ‘Malhari’, featuring Ranveer Singh, has been recreated in Marvel’s animated…

1 hour ago

Rain May Continue In Bhubaneswar & 12 Odisha Dists Till 9PM Today

Bhubaneswar: Light to moderate rain may continue in Bhubaneswar till 9 pm, the India Meteorological…

1 hour ago

This website uses cookies.