Latest news with #OrissaHighCourt
New Indian Express
a day ago
- New Indian Express
Orissa HC acquits two in 2017 triple murder case, sets aside death sentence
CUTTACK: In a significant judgement, the Orissa High Court on Monday acquitted two men who had been sentenced to death for the brutal murder of a family of three in Angul district in 2017, citing lack of conclusive evidence. A division bench comprising Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra allowed the criminal appeals filed by Prakash Behera and Nandakishor Sethy, setting aside their conviction and death sentence pronounced by the additional sessions judge, Athamallik, on September 27, 2024. Behera and Sethy had been convicted for the gruesome killing of a couple and their three-year-old son at Gambharimaliha village under Kishore Nagar police limits on October 9, 2017. Their throats were allegedly slit in what the trial court termed a 'rarest of rare' case warranting capital punishment. The prosecution's story was that the accused unlawfully entered the home of Biranchi Naik with the intent to commit robbery and murder. They allegedly abducted Biranchi Naik and his minor son Ekalabya Naik, and later murdered his wife Tarani Naik. The accused reportedly stole cash and used a 'Katuri' (sharp-edged weapon), during the crime.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Uncertainty looms over liver transplant services at SCB MCH, Orissa HC takes note
Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has taken serious note of the uncertainty over the future of liver transplantation services at the state-run SCB MCH in Cuttack due to the lapse of a crucial partnership agreement. On July 18, the division bench comprising Justice SK Sahoo and Justice V Narasingh sought clarity on the issue from the hospital authorities. During the hearing, SCB MCH superintendent Prof Goutam Satapathy informed the court that no eligible patient had been denied transplantation solely due to the expiration of the MoU with AIG, Hyderabad, from April 1, 2025. He assured the bench that efforts were underway to finalise a new MoU with MGM Healthcare, Chennai, to ensure continuity of the life-saving service. The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 31, stressing the urgency of the matter. The liver transplant unit at SCB MCH was established in 2022, backed by a sanctioned fund of Rs 22 crore. The goal was to provide liver transplants free of cost to the people of Odisha. Under the original MoU, a team from AIG Hyderabad provided technical and procedural support to SCB MCH to conduct two liver transplants - the first on April 3, 2024, and the second on September 9, 2024. The collaboration was designed to continue until the hospital developed its own fully-trained transplant team. However, the current vacuum in specialised trained staff has raised concerns about the sustainability of the programme.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Orissa High Court upholds right to protest, quashes Rayagada DM's order
CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday quashed a controversial order issued by the Rayagada collector that barred Bhawanipatna-based doctor Randall Sequeira from entering the district. The June 4 order, which also applied to noted activist Medha Patkar and 22 others, was imposed ahead of a planned protest against proposed bauxite mining at the Sijimali hills. Delivering the verdict, Justice SK Panigrahi held that blanket bans on protest activities are contrary to constitutional values. 'In a constitutional democracy, the government should focus on dialogue and management rather than exclusion,' the court said, emphasising that reasonable regulation and not prohibition is the appropriate response to concerns over law and order. The court took note of the context in which the ban was issued - during the Rath Yatra festivities, when police resources were stretched thin. However, it stated that those constraints were temporary and it was no longer justifiable to continue the restrictions. Dr Sequeira, who has provided free healthcare services to tribal communities in Rayagada and Kalahandi for several years, had challenged the ban as unconstitutional. His counsel, Advocate Afraaz Suhail, argued that the order disrupted essential services and violated his client's fundamental rights. While lifting the restriction on Dr Sequeira, the court laid down operational guidelines for future protests. These include prior notification to authorities, cooperation from organisers, state facilitation of venue and time, and proportionate restrictions to maintain public order. This apart, protesters must ensure peaceful conduct and authorities must avoid arbitrary denial of protest rights. The court stressed that these guidelines are case-specific and do not dilute broader constitutional protections under Article 19. Violations by protesters or unjustified restrictions by authorities will both be subject to legal scrutiny, it said. Dr Sequeira is now free to enter Rayagada district and resume his work. The status of the ban on other activists, including Medha Patkar and Prafulla Samantara, remains unclear as of the judgment by Justice Panigrahi on Friday.
New Indian Express
4 days ago
- New Indian Express
Orissa High Court orders compensation for workers killed in 2013 landslide
CUTTACK: In a significant ruling, the Orissa High Court has quashed the orders of the Nayagarh collector rejecting ex gratia compensation claims filed by the families of two labourers who died in a tragic landslide during road construction work in 2013. The court also directed the state government to pay compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh each to the bereaved families within two months, with 12 per cent annual interest for any delay beyond the stipulated period. Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra delivered identical judgments on July 10 in two separate petitions filed by the families of the deceased Taleswar Jani and Krushna Chandra Mallik. The petitions were moved challenging the collector's rejection of their compensation applications dated June 17, 2022. The deceased, Jani and Mallik, had been engaged in a road construction project in Sirikibadi village under Banigochha police station in Nayagarh district. On July 17, 2013, while work was underway, a sudden landslide triggered by heavy rainfall claimed their lives on the spot. However, the collector had rejected the families' compensation requests, citing that the rainfall on the day of the incident did not meet the threshold required under the Odisha Relief Code for compensation due to natural disasters. The court ruled that the bereaved families are fully entitled to ex gratia compensation under the Odisha Relief Code. It directed the state to release `1.50 lakh to each family along with interest from the date of their applications. Failure to comply within two months would attract an interest penalty of 12 pc per annum.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Health
- New Indian Express
Orissa HC seeks govt reply on delay in expanding NAT-PCR blood testing across state
CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has sought a detailed response from the state government after a contempt petition was filed by advocate Prabir Kumar Das over its alleged failure to implement nucleic acid testing polymerase chain reaction (NAT-PCR) blood testing facilities in all blood banks as promised. The division bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice MS Raman on Thursday directed the commissioner-cum-secretary of the Health and Family Welfare department to file an affidavit within two weeks, outlining the steps taken to fulfil the commitment made in court in November 2023. The matter has been posted for further hearing on August 4. The directive comes in response to a contempt petition filed by Das on April 2, 2025. In his plea, Das contended that the state government had wilfully violated the high court's order dated November 30, 2023, which required the establishment of advanced NAT-PCR testing facilities in all 56 blood collection centres of the state by the end of March 2025. The court order had followed Das' earlier PIL that highlighted the risks associated with blood transfusions using traditional ELISA-based screening. He had argued that the NAT-PCR technology allows for early detection of infections such as HIV 1 and 2, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C, thus ensuring safer transfusions. In its affidavit filed in response to the PIL in November 2023, the Health department had stated that 47 per cent of the blood collected in Odisha was being tested using NAT-PCR technology at 11 centres. The government had assured the court that it would expand the facility to all 56 blood centres at an estimated cost of `200 crore by March 2025. However, Das, appearing in person, submitted that information obtained through RTI queries from the directorate of Blood Safety (March 3, 2025) and the Health department (March 17, 2025) confirmed that only the original 11 centres were equipped with NAT-PCR, and no progress had been made in the remaining 45 centres. Calling the inaction a 'deliberate and wilful violation' of the court's order, Das urged the bench to initiate proceedings under the Contempt of Courts Act against the commissioner-cum-secretary. The court, while not initiating contempt proceedings, has directed the official to respond with a status update in two weeks.
