HC again defers hearing on plea against Odisha CM's election

The Orissa High Court today once again deferred the hearing on a petition challenging the election of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, filed by a BJP leader, who had lost to Patnaik in the 2014 polls from the Hinjili Assembly constituency in Ganjam district.
Since the maintainability of a similar petition, filed by Right to Information (RTI) activist Subash Mohapatra, was in question in the connected petition and the same was listed for hearing on September 6, Justice S K Mishra adjourned the hearing on the plea of BJP leader Devananda Mohapatra till that date and ordered that both the matters be listed for a joint hearing.

Both the RTI activist and the BJP leader have challenged the election of Patnaik on the grounds that the chief minister and his party Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had submitted false affidavits to the Election Commission (EC) regarding poll expenses.
Both the petitioners have claimed that there are discrepancies in the affidavits.
Appearing for the BJP leader, senior advocate Pitambar Acharya contended that notice be issued to the chief minister as his election was in question and the petitioners had prayed to the EC for appropriate action against Patnaik under section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

EC counsel Anjana Gosain, however, submitted that a similar matter was before the court, in which it had already framed the questions to be determined and asked the poll panel to respond to it.
Considering the submissions, the court decided to hold a joint hearing of both the petitions on September 6.