Orissa High Court: 40 Important Decisions Of The Year 2021

As we have stepped into the year 2022, it is necessary to look back at the important decisions of the year 2021, and therefore, in this article, we would be going through 40 important decisions of the Orissa High Court spread across 10 Categories. Criminal Cases 1. "Justice Is Sum Of All Moral Duty": Orissa HC Orders ₹10 Lakh Compensation For Gang Rape Survivor Carrying Over 26-Week Pregnancy ['X' v. State of Odisha & Ors] Quoting political philosopher William Godwin, the Orissa High Court, while stressing that Justice is the sum of all moral duty, directed the State Government to pay ₹10 Lakh as compensation to a 20-year-old gang-rape victim who became pregnant due to the offence committed against her. However, the Bench of Justice S.K. Panigrahi refused the permission sought by the victim to terminate her over 26-week pregnancy noting that the provisions of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971 do not permit the termination of pregnancy of the petitioner. 2. Orissa High Court Grants Bail To Man Accused Of Posting Whatsapp Message Urging People To Assault Former CJI For Refusing Rath Yatra Permission The High Court granted bail to a man accused of posting a message in a WhatsApp group urging people to join him on a mission to assault the former Chief Justice of India with shoes for refusing permission to observe Rath Yatra. Mukesh Jain, who is said to be the National Chairman of Dharma Rakshyak Shri Dara Sena, had allegedly portrayed the Chief Justice of India as a Naxalite and Christian terrorist and accused him for halting the Rath Yatra. Following this, he was charged under offences punishable under Sections 153/153-A/153-B/295-A/504/505/506 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 66(F) of the Information Technology Act 3. Orissa High Court Orders CID Probe To Determine Authenticity Of Affidavit Allegedly Filed By Minor Rape Victim Claiming To Be Married To Accused (Khaga Naik v. State of Odisha) The Court ordered the CID-Crime Branch to initiate a probe to determine the authenticity of an affidavit purportedly filed by a minor rape victim, claiming to be the wife of the accused in order to facilitate grant of bail to him. The controversy came to light when the concerned investigating officer submitted a report before the Court claiming that the affidavit had not been filed by the victim. Justice S.K Sahoo ordered, "In such state of affairs, this Court thinks it proper that the matter should be enquired into by the CID, Crime Branch, Odisha which is a premier investigating agency of the State as to whether the said Anita Behera (Naik) has sworn affidavit in question before Notary, Cuttack Town on 06.04.2021 being identified by Mr. B.N. Mohapatra and whether the signatures of Anita Behera appearing on the affidavit as well as Vakalatnama are genuine or not and whether the marriage photographs annexed to the affidavit are that of the petitioner and the victim or not." 4. Orissa High Court Issues Notice On A Decade Old Plea Seeking Compensation For Incarceration In Allegedly False Sedition Case [Pratima Das v. State of Odisha & Ors.] The Court has ordered fresh issuance of notices to the respondents in a decade-old matter for compensation to a lawyer-activist, allegedly incarcerated on the false charge of sedition. A division of Bench of Chief Justice Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray rejuvenated the matter by ordering fresh notices, upon observing that the case was only listed twice in the last decade and service of notice was still not complete. 5. Gandhi's Dream That Women Feel Safe To Walk At Midnight Is Falling Short Of Reality: Orissa HC Upholds Man's Conviction Under POCSO [Lilu @ Ashok Kumar Das Adhikari v. State of Odisha] Upholding the conviction of a man under POCSO for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old minor girl, the Orissa High Court recently observed that Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's dream that women feel safe to walk in the streets of India in the midnight is "falling short of reality". The Bench of Justice S. K. Sahoo specifically observed thus: "The father of nation Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led Indian independence movement with great sons of soil like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Chandra Sekhar Azad, Subhas Chandra Bose and many more had once said, 'India will be free when the women feel safe to walk in the streets of India in the midnight'. 6. Auction Of Milch Cows With Calves Won't Amount To Abandoning/Cruelty Against Animals: Orissa High Court [Dhyaan Foundation v. State of Odisha and others] The Orissa High Court recently observed that the auction of milch cows with calves does not amount to cruelty or abandoning the animals. The Bench of Justice Jaswant Singh and Justice S K Panigrahi was hearing a plea filed by Dhyaan Foundation, a registered trust engaged in the activity of rescue, care, treatment, and rehabilitation of...

Orissa High Court: 40 Important Decisions Of The Year 2021

Sparsh Upadhyay

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