Mahanga case: SC notice to govt

After Jena challenged the order in the high court on grounds of jurisdiction, Justice Gourishankar Satapathy quashed the JMFC's order on October 1, 2024, saying the order is not only unsustainable in the eye of law, but also the proceeding initiated against the petitioner (Pratap Jena) is absolutely without jurisdiction as his name was added as an additional accused who was not charge-sheeted even after two rounds of investigation and the Court of Sessions (trial court) had already assumed jurisdiction over the matter.

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"It was the Court of Sessions who could have passed order to add the petitioner as an additional accused, but the Sessions Court had neither invoked its power nor was it moved to arraign the petition