Orissa High Court Denies Pre-Arrest Bail To Journalist Booked For Claiming Odisha Minister Offered Him Bribe
The Orissa High Court has recently denied anticipatory bail to the editor of a digital media platform for his alleged defamatory remarks against the State Education Minister Nityananda Gond over multiple errors found in school textbooks.
The petitioner Sudhanshu Sekhar Rout, who is the Editor-in-Chief of an online news platform called 'Focus Plus', allegedly made certain comments claiming that the Minister of School and Mass Education attempted to bribe him to suppress reports regarding alleged multiple errors in school textbooks.
A video clip containing such allegations was purportedly uploaded and circulated over social media platforms. Accordingly, an FIR was registered under Sections 353 (statements conducing to public mischief), 196 (promoting enmity between groups) and 356 (defamation) of the BNS for making statements, which were retaliated by the informant as false, fabricated, malicious and defamatory, in order to tarnish the reputation of the Minister and to mislead the masses.
Anticipating arrest in the case, the petitioner applied for the pre-arrest bail and submitted that custodial interrogation is not at all required. However, the State Counsel opposed such bail by citing as many as 20 criminal antecedents against petitioner. That apart, the statement recorded under Section 183 BNSS (akin to Section 164 CrPC) of a correspondent working under the petitioner was taken into consideration to oppose the bail.
The petitioner countered the allegations by arguing that the enlisted antecedents against him are irrelevant and inconsequential in the present case and the Court must not give them much emphasis. Moreover, the ground of grant of bail to certain co-accused persons was also pressed into service to seek relief.
Upon hearing the rival contentions, the Bench of Justice V. Narasingh deemed it inappropriate to extend any protection to the petitioner at this stage.
“Considering the materials on record and perusal of the statement of the correspondent, who works under the Petitioner, recorded under Section 183 of BNSS and other statements, this Court is not inclined to entertain the application of the Petitioner for grant of “exceptional remedy” of pre-arrest bail. The same accordingly stands rejected.”
Case Title: Sudhanshu Sekhar Rout v. State of Odisha
Case No: ABLAPL No. 8997 of 2026
Counsel for the Petitioner: Ms. Pratyusha Naidu, Advocate on behalf of Mr. R.R. Mishra, Advocate
Counsel for the State: Mr. S. Panigrahi, Addl. Standing Counsel
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Ori) 93