Bhubaneswar: Former Minister and senior BJD leader Pratap Jena heaved a sigh of relief as the Orissa High Court today quashed the order of the Salepur JMFC court in connection with the much-hyped Mahanga double murder case.
The lower court had ordered the police to reinvestigate the double murder case for not including the name of Jena in the case.
“The lower court order, which we challenged in the High Court, was quashed today. In addition, the entire criminal proceedings were also quashed by the High Court. We had contended in the High Court that the magistrate had taken cognizance for the second time based on a second protest petition which is not permissible in law. The High Court accepted our contention and quashed all the criminal proceedings,” said Ansuman Ray, petitioner’s lawyer.
Jena had moved the High Court, challenging the order of the lower court.
The JMFC court, in its order, stated last year in September, “After going through the statements of the complainant, witnesses, and other available materials on record, it is found that a prima facie case punishable for the offences under sections 302, 506, 120B of the Indian Penal Code is made against the accused Pratap Jena.”
In response to the High Court order, Jena stated that truth prevails always.
“Truth always prevails. Where Lord Jagannath lives, injustice can never stand long,” he wrote on his X handle.
BJP leader Kulamani Baral, who was block chairman of Mahanga, and his associate Dibyasingha Baral were killed by unidentified miscreants on January 2, 2021, while they were returning home in a motorbike.
