CUTTACK: Environmental activists Prafulla Kumar Samantara along with Lingaraj Azad, Narendra Kumar Mohanty and Sumanta Parida have moved the Orissa High Court challenging a prohibitory order issued by the Rayagada district administration that bars them and 21 others, including Medha Patkar, from entering the district for two months.
The petition, filed under section 528 of the Bharatiya Nagarika Surakhya Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, came up for hearing before Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra on July 3.
Taking note of the submissions, Justice Mohapatra directed the matter to be listed in the week commencing July 28 and granted interim protection to the petitioners.
“As an interim measure, it is directed that no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioners till the next date,” he ordered.
Senior Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioners along with advocate Ishwar Mohanty, contended that the order dated June 4, 2025, issued by the Collector and District Magistrate of Rayagada, violates their fundamental rights. Grover argued that the collector acted arbitrarily and failed to provide any concrete basis for the alleged apprehension of public disorder.
She pointed out that while the collector cited a report from the Rayagada SP, the report itself was not made part of the order. The ban was imposed ahead of a scheduled protest meeting against proposed bauxite mining at Sijimali hills on June 5. Authorities had claimed the activists’ presence could threaten law and order and hinder administrative work.