Mahanga twin murder case: HC relief for Jena against lower court order

Cuttack: In a reprieve for BJD member and former minister Pratap Jena, the Orissa high court on Tuesday quashed the order of the court of judicial magistrate first class (JMFC), Salepur, which had found that prima facie a case is made against him as an accused in the Mahanga double murder case.
While granting interim protection to Jena against possible action as an accused in the case on Nov 2, 2023, high court said, “As an interim, it is directed that no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner till Dec 19, 2023.”
Subsequently, the interim order was extended on different dates of hearing on Jena’s petition.
The order of the JMFC court issued on Sept 25, 2023, had said, “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.”
Jena had challenged the order on grounds of jurisdiction on Oct 31, 2023.
While delivering the judgment on Tuesday, Justice Gourishankar Satapathy said the judicial magistrate first class’s order is not only unsustainable in the eye of law, but also the proceedings initiated against Jena are absolutely without jurisdiction as his name was added as an additional accused who was not charge-sheeted even after two rounds of investigation and the court of sessions (trial court) had already assumed jurisdiction over the matter.
“It was the court of sessions who could have passed order to add the petitioner as an additional accused, but the court of sessions had neither invoked its power nor was it moved to arraign the petitioner as an additional accused,” Justice Satapathy said, adding, “In the interest of justice, the impugned order being unsustainable together with proceeding against the petitioner is liable to be quashed.”
BJP member Kulamani Baral, who was block chairman of Mahanga, and his associate Dibyasingha Baral were brutally killed by unidentified miscreants on Jan 2, 2021, while they were returning home on a motorbike.
Initially, the double murder case was registered on a complaint filed by Ramakant Baral, son of Kulamani. After Ramakant’s death, his younger brother had renewed the complaint.
On Aug 28 this year, the court of additional sessions judge, Salipur sentenced nine accused to life imprisonment and acquitted one, Arabinda Khatua, due to lack of evidence. The convicts are Panchanana Sethy, Kailash Chandra Khatua, Lalit Mohan Baral, Khitish Kumar Acharya, Chaitanya Sethy, Umesh Chandra Khatua, Bhikari Charan Swain, Malaya Kumar Barik and Pramod Biswal.