SC Grants Odisha BJP MLA Jaynarayan Mishra Interim Protection From Arrest In Woman Cop Abuse Case

New Delhi: In a huge relief for Odisha’s Leader of Opposition (LoP) and BJP MLA Jaynarayan Mishra, the Supreme Court recently granted him interim protection from arrest in the case pertaining to alleged abuse of a woman cop.

Besides granting interim relief to Mishra, the two-judge bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra also issued notice to the Odisha government and sought its response within four weeks. “Issue notice, returnable in four weeks. In the meantime, the petitioner is protected from arrest in connection with the above case,” the bench said.

The top court was hearing an appeal filed by Mishra, challenging the November 23, 2023, order of the Orissa High Court which had dismissed his plea seeking anticipatory bail in the matter.

Arguing for Mishra, senior lawyer, Maninder Singh, told the court that his client is an MLA and the LOP in the Assembly, and he was not even summoned in the case. The state HC should have considered this case and granted relief to him, he added.

According to the victim and also the complainant Dhanupali police station IIC Anita Pradhan, Mishra allegedly assaulted the woman cop after accusing her of taking bribes during a BJP protest in Sambalpur on February 15 last year.

The MLA from Sambalpur, however, denied the charge and claimed that Pradhan had pushed him.