HC quashes MLA's writ, imposes fine

The Orissa High Court today dismissed a petition of Titlagarh MLA Tukuni Sahu and fined the BJD legislator Rs 15,000 for wasting the court's time during adjudication of an election petition.
Last year, the High Court had twice imposed fines of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 on Sahu for seeking unnecessary adjournments and not responding to the court's notices in stipulated time in an election-related petition filed by former MLA and Congress leader Surendra Singh Bhoi.
Bhoi has challenged the election of Sahu stating that the process of election and counting of votes in Titlagarh Assembly segment were not taken up properly in April-May last year.

Polling 57,836 votes, Bhoi had lost to the BJD leader by a margin of 14,022 votes in a 12-cornered contest.
While the MLA was asked to file her written statement in response to Bhoi's petition, she preferred to file a miscellaneous petition in the High Court seeking to quash Bhoi's petition.
Terming this as an act of impediment to judicial process, Justice Biswanath Rath dismissed the MLA's plea and imposed cost on her.