Odisha HC accepts affidavit against senior BJD leader Rabi Nanda

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Nov 24:

In a set back to senior BJD leader and former minister Rabi Narayan Nanda, the Odisha High Court has accepted the second affidavit filed by Congress MLA Tara Bahinipati .

High Court has accepted the second affidavit filed by Congress MLA of Jeypore Tara Prasad Bahinipati to the returning officer against Senior BJD leader and former minister, Rabi Nanda. The court also ruled that the earlier poll affidavit filed in front of the returning officer can be accepted as an evidence in the case.

Rabi Nanda twice has been slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000, respectively by the court in the same case for seeking to delay court proceedings. The court had also asked why a criminal case shall not be registered against him for furnishing false information to the court.

Earlier, the former minister, in his affidavit, had sought more time from the court on medical grounds that he had been advised one-month rest due to lungs complications.

However, challenging the affidavit, Bahinipati, in his petition, had informed the court that Nanda, during the period, had accompanied the Chief Minister in several programmes and the medical report was from a gynaecologist.

Hearing the petition, the court had served a notice to Nanda on February 21 seeking reply as to why criminal proceedings should be not initiated against him on the charge of filing a false affidavit.

High Court had rejected the revision petition filed by Nanda on November 17 last year and had fined him Rs 5,000 for filing the petition after lapse of the stipulated period for filing such petitions.

Nand had challenged the result of the Jeypore constituency in which he had lost to Bahinipati in the Assembly elections in May last year.