HC rejects BJP MLA’s plea to dismiss election petition

Cuttack: Orissa high court on Friday rejected BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy's application to dismiss an election petition challenging his victory from Jharsuguda assembly constituency. Justice Sashikanta Mishra ruled that the election petition filed by former MLA Dipali Das contained sufficient material facts and triable issues, warranting a full hearing. "The contentions raised by Tripathy are bereft of any merit," Justice Mishra said.Das, who lost to Tripathy by a narrow margin of 1,333 votes in the June 2024 election, filed the petition in August, seeking to nullify Tripathy's victory. She alleged that the BJP legislator had suppressed information about criminal cases in his nomination papers filed on May 3. Senior advocate Bidyadhar Mishra, representing Das, also claimed that 6,313 votes from 12 control units across eight polling stations were not counted during the tallying process. "If these votes would have been counted, the outcome might have been different," Mishra argued.Tripathy, represented by senior advocate GK Agarwal had contended that the election petition lacked cause of action and material facts. However, the court found merit in Das's allegations and allowed the petition to proceed.