Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has dismissed an election petition challenging the victory of Union Education Minister and Sambalpur MP Dharmendra Pradhan, bringing an end to the long-pending case over the 2024 Parliamentary elections.
A single-judge bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra rejected the original election petition filed by Subash Mahapatra, observing that the plea was “frivolous, baseless, propagandist, politically motivated,” and did not satisfy mandatory requirements under Section 83(1) of the Representation of the People Act (RPA), 1951. The court had admitted an interim application moved by Pradhan seeking dismissal of the case.
The petition, filed in 2024, had sought to declare Pradhan’s election from the Sambalpur Lok Sabha seat void, alleging that he had not furnished complete disclosures in his nomination papers, that his affidavit contained defects, and that he held an “office of profit,” which would disqualify him.
After a preliminary hearing, the High Court had issued notices to Pradhan and other respondents on August 23, 2024. Subsequently, Pradhan’s counsel filed an interim application under Order 6 Rule 16 and Order 7 Rule 11 of the CPC, along with Section 86 of the RPA, arguing that the petition failed to comply with statutory requirements under Sections 81(3) and 83 of the Act.
The court’s decision formally closes the case, which had remained pending for over a year.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP candidate Dharmendra Pradhan secured 592,162 votes, defeating BJD’s Pranab Prakash Das, who polled 472,326 votes.
Senior advocate Gopal Agarwal represented Pradhan during the proceedings.
