CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Thursday issued notice to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in the petitions filed by BJD chief whip Pramila Mallick seeking judicial intervention against rejection of her plea seeking disqualification of eight party MLAs for alleged cross-voting in the March Rajya Sabha elections.
Notices were also issued to the secretary of the Legislative Assembly in five of the eight petitions, involving suspended BJD MLAs Arvind Mohapatra, Souvic Biswal, Sanatan Mahakud, Chakramani Kanhar and Subasini Jena.
While issuing the notices, Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo sought replies from the respondents by December 4 and posted the matter for further consideration on January 11, 2027.
The petitions were filed over a month ago, but the court has not examined the merits of the disqualification allegations of the BJD chief whip in the proceedings on the petitions so far.
Justice RK Patnaik, who was earlier assigned the petitions recused himself from hearing the matter on September 30. The Chief Justice had since reassigned the matter to Justice Sahoo through an administrative order.
According to the petitions, the Speaker ought to have allowed the petitioner an opportunity to rectify procedural defects instead of rejecting the disqualification pleas outright. Rejection of the petitions on technical grounds without examining the allegations would defeat the objective of the anti-defection law, Mallick claimed.
In a notification on June 19, while rejecting the disqualification petitions, the Speaker had emphasised the importance of strictly following the procedural requirements governing disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
The Speaker had observed that such proceedings were quasi-judicial in nature and could have serious consequences for an elected member’s right to continue in office for the full term. Disqualification could also affect the electorate’s mandate, the notification stated, cautioning against entertaining petitions filed in violation of the prescribed rules.
The BJD welcomed the intervention of the high court in the case. Mallick stated that the party has faith in judicial process and hopes the case will be concluded within a specified time frame. Constitutional and legal issues will be presented with due respect for dignity of judicial process and in accordance with established legal principles, she added.
