Cuttack (Oct 16): The Orissa High Court on Monday closed the 2014-Bijepur-Election –irregularity case on the ground of the sole respondent Subal Sahu’s death during the hearing.
With this judicial outcome, process for Bijepur by-election has become free to go ahead.
In the electiion for the Bijepur Assembly constituency in 2014, Subal Sahu of Congress defeated Dr. Prasanna Acharya of BJD by a thin margin of 548 votes. However Dr Acharya challanged the result in the High Court and requested to declare Subal Sahu’s election invalid and the assembly seat “casually vacant”
After Subal Sahu’s death his counsel sought the Court to dispose of the case as his client was the sole respondent and with his death the Bijepur seat became automatically vacant that the petitioner had appealed for. However Prasanna Acharya’s counsel argued that there is no provision to close the case under the People’ Representation Act even if the respondent dies.
The single member bench of D Das after hearing both sides observed that there was no need for continuance of the case after the only respondent passed away during the trail.
As the political outfits in Odisha are flexing their muscles for the Bijepur encounter the Court’s decision is significant.
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