Cuttack: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed two Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) filed by BJD’s Bhubaneswar Central MLA Ananta Narayan Jena challenging the Orissa High Court’s order that had refused to reject petitions seeking to nullify his election.

A single-judge bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant upheld the High Court’s decision while hearing Jena’s SLPs.

The petitions in the High Court were filed by BJP candidate Jagannath Pradhan, who contested the 2024 Assembly polls from Bhubaneswar Central, and his proposer Gorachand Mangaraj. They sought to declare Jena’s election null and void and demanded a fresh poll for the constituency.

Jena had earlier moved interim applications before the High Court, urging it to dismiss the petitions filed by Pradhan and Mangaraj without proceeding to a full hearing. The High Court rejected these applications, prompting Jena to approach the Supreme Court, where his pleas were again turned down today.

Meanwhile, Justice Anand Chandra Behera of the Orissa High Court on Monday directed both parties to submit the draft issues of the main case, along with their respective lists of witnesses and documents.

The High Court has scheduled the next hearing on Pradhan and Mangaraj’s petitions for December 10.