S. 173(8) CrPC | Magistrate Can Direct Further Investigation Even Without Prayer From Investigating Agency/ Complainant: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that a Magistrate or a Special Judge is empowered to direct further investigation under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), even without any formal prayer from investigating agency or complainant, in a case where the investigating agency has submitted a final form due to lack of evidence.Clarifying the position of law vis-à-vis power of...

Orissa High Court Quashes Penalty Against Ex-Registrar (Judicial) Over Allegedly Missing File Pages, Finds No Evidence Of Malafide

The Orissa High Court has recently come to the rescue of its former Registrar (Judicial) who was found guilty in a disciplinary inquiry of misplacing certain pages of an administrative file of the Court and for allegedly misguiding the then Acting Chief Justice in a promotion matter relating to the staff of the High Court establishment.While setting aside the major penalty imposed on him,...

Putting Hand Inside Minor Girl's Pant Amounts To 'Sexual Assault' U/S 7 Of POCSO Act: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that the act of an accused putting his hand inside the pant of a minor girl/victim, even without proof of inserting finger into her vagina, amounts to 'sexual assault' within the ambit of Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 ('the POCSO Act').Affirming the conviction and order of sentence recorded by the trial Court, a Single...

Orissa High Court Refuses Interim Relief In Plea Against April 1 Cut-Off Date To Calculate 3-Yrs Practice For Judicial Services Exam

The Orissa High Court has refused to passed any interim relief in a plea challenging the Rule stipulating cut-off date to 1st April of the recruitment year to calculate three-years practice for advocates applying for Odisha Judicial Service (OJS) examination.Denying any interim relief to the aggrieved petitioners, a Division Bench of Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak and Justice Sibo Sankar...

Orissa High Court Grants Relief To 90-Year-Old Deprived Of Retiral Benefits Due To Disciplinary Proceedings Pending Since 1994

The Orissa High Court has held that retiral benefits of a delinquent employee cannot be withheld indefinitely for no fault on his part, which can only be attributed to the disciplinary authority.While quashing a 32-year-old disciplinary proceeding against 90-year-old retired employee, a Bench of Justice Biraja Prasanna Satapathy held–“The petitioner though filed his reply on 22.05.2001...

Orissa High Court Issues Standing Order To Protect Identity Of Sexual Offence Victims In Court Records

The Orissa High Court has issued a Standing Order to prevent disclosure of identities of sexual offence victims in any manner, including in Court records. The administrative order was passed pursuant to the recent Supreme Court direction in State of Himachal Pradesh v. Hukum Chand alias Monu, 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 294, wherein the top Court expressed concern over non-compliance of its...

Orissa High Court Grants Bail To Gangster Sushanta Dhalasamanta In 2004 Murder Case Citing 10-Yrs Long Pre-Trial Incarceration

The Orissa High Court has granted bail to gangster Sushanta Dhalasamanta, who is a part of notorious crime syndicate Dhalasamanta Brothers/D-Brothers, in a murder case citing more than ten years of pre-trial incarceration.A Bench of Justice Gourishankar Satapathy made it clear that mere existence of criminal antecedents against an accused do not give license to the prosecution to seek...

Deployment For Permanent Absorption Is Distinct From Deputation; Employee Can't Be Arbitrarily Repatriated: Orissa HC

A Division Bench of the Orissa High Court comprising Justice Krishna Shripad Dixit and Justice Chittaranjan Dash held that deployment under a government policy that provides for permanent absorption cannot be treated as deputation, and therefore repatriation or redeployment of such an employee is impermissible. Background Facts The appellant was working as a Peskar...

Notice U/S 35(3) BNSS Can't Be Issued To Person Accused Of Offence Punishable With More Than 7 Yrs Imprisonment: Orissa High Court

The Orissa High Court has held that a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) can only be issued to persons accused of committing cognizable offences punishable with an imprisonment for less than seven years or which may extend up to seven years, and not more than that. Clarifying the position of law and highlighting the error committed by not only the...

'Work With Love Or Sit Outside Temple': Orissa High Court Cites Khalil Gibran, Upholds Bank Employee's Removal For Defying Transfer

“And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy,” the Orissa High Court quoted Lebanese-American writer Kahlil Gibran as it denied to grant any relief to a former female bank employee who was removed from service due to unauthorized absence from office upon...

'Sinister Motive To Gain Popularity': Orissa High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking To Rename 'Cuttack' As 'Katak', Imposes ₹10K Costs

The Orissa High Court has dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking to rename the city of 'Cuttack' as 'Katak'. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman found the case to be a publicity driven litigation and imposed a cost of rupees ten thousand. “Once a litigation of such nature has already been dismissed with categorical finding that it...

Orissa High Court Upholds Conviction, Reduces Sentence In Attempt To Murder Case After Over 3 Decades

The Orissa High Court has recently reduced the sentence of imprisonment imposed upon a man who was found guilty for attempt to murder of a lady whom he stabbed multiple times in the year 1992, causing serious abdominal injuries including protrusion of intestines.A Bench of Justice Sibo Sankar Mishra though upheld the order of conviction handed down by the trial Court, due to passage of almost...