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State files status report on ‘assault' on magistrate in High Court

CUTTACK: The State government submitted a “status report” in the High Court on Wednesday pertaining to the April 2 alleged police assault to a judicial magistrate in Rourkala while the Division Bench hearing a PIL on the matter adjourned the case to be taken up again on Friday.

Lawyers of Orissa High Court boycotted the court proceedings for the third consecutive day on Wednesday demanding arrest of the erring police official and shifting of Rourkela police chief. The lawyers of the lower courts also followed suit.

At a general body meeting of the Orissa High Court Bar Association on Wednesday, the lawyers unanimously decided to boycott the court till Thursday afternoon. “We have decided to chalk out our further course of action after a detailed discussion on Thursday”, said the bar association secretary Lalatendu Samantray.

Meanwhile in its status report, the State government told the court that two cases had been registered in the Uditnagar police station of Rourkela in which the local police inspector has drawn up an FIR against the Panposh judicial magistrate while another case has been registered against the police inspector basing on the complaint filed by the magistrate.

“A DSP-rank police officer has been entrusted to investigate both cases while the Rourkela Additional SP has been directed to supervise the cases”, said the status report that was filed by an officer of the office of the Advocate General (AG).

Accepting the status report, the Division Bench of Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B N Mohapatra directed to list the matter on April 8 and asked the State government to file further status report in the matter by the next date of hearing.

It may be mentioned here that following newspaper reports of the alleged assault on the judicial magistrate, advocate Dayanidhi Lenka had filed a letter petition in the High Court on Monday urging the Chief Justice to take suo motu cognizance of the serious matter. The High Court after converting the letter petition into a PIL on Tuesday had directed the State Home Secretary and Rourkela SP to file counters within 24 hours.

While the counter filed by the Home Secretary arrived here on Wednesday, the office of the AG is waiting for the counter affidavit of Rourkela SP, sources said.

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