High Court imposes cost of Rs 5000 on former Odisha minister

The Orissa High Court today directed senior BJD leader and former minister Rabi Narayan Nanda to pay a cost of Rs 5,000 for filing an amended petition to his original election plea after the stipulated deadline.

Nanda, who had lost to Congress' Tara Prasad Bahinipati in the Assembly polls in April, had challenged the election of Jeypore MLA Bahinipati in his petition in July.

But after the respondents were issued notices, Nanda filed an amended petition.

Since the amended petition was filed beyond the stipulated 45 days, the single-judge bench of Justice Biswanath Rath rejected it and directed the petitioner to pay a cost of Rs 5,000.