BHUBANESWAR: In a major relief to senior BJD leader and former minister Pratap Jena, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Orissa High Court order in the 2021 Mahanga double-murder case.
A division bench of the apex court comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Aparesh Kumar Singh declined to interfere with the judgement of the Orissa High Court. Expressing gratitude to Lord Jagannath and the people of Mahanga after the Supreme Court verdict, the BJD vice-president said the allegations against him were baseless and politically motivated.
“I had full faith on the judiciary. I was given relief by the Orissa High Court even though my name was deliberately dragged into the case following pressure from the BJP and Congress. Now the truth has prevailed,” Jena said.
The murder case dates back to January 2, 2021, when BJP leader and Mahanga block chairman Kulamani Baral and his associate Dibyasingha Baral were brutally hacked to death by miscreants while returning home on a motorbike.
Though Jena did not figure in the initial FIR, his name was included after Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Salepur, found prima facie a case made against him as an accused in the murder following a protest petition by the son of Kulamani Baral.
The High Court, however, quashed the cognisance and proceedings against Jena by the JMFC court.