The Supreme Court has issued a notice on a special leave petition (SLP) challenging the Orissa High Court's decision to dismiss a substitution plea in an election petition filed against BJD MLA Sanjib Kumar Mallick from the Bhandaripokhari assembly constituency.
Supreme Court Proceedings
A two-judge bench, comprising Justice M M Sundresh and Justice Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh, while hearing the matter on May 11, ordered, "Issue notice, returnable on 13.08.2026." The plea has been filed by Sriram Mohapatra, a high court lawyer who has sought the Supreme Court's intervention against the abatement of the election petition following the death of the original petitioner. Accordingly, a notice was issued to MLA Sanjib Kumar Mallick.
Background of the Election Petition
Mallick had won the Bhandaripokhari seat in the 2024 Odisha assembly election, the results of which were declared on June 4, 2024. He defeated Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik by a narrow margin of 1,551 votes. Mallick's election was challenged before the High Court by Jagabandhu Das, a voter from the constituency, who filed an election petition on July 19, 2024. The petition questioned the validity of the nomination papers submitted by the BJD legislator during the election process.
Substitution Plea and High Court Order
During the pendency of the case, Das died, and a gazette notification regarding his death was issued on May 19 last year. Subsequently, on June 20 last year, Mohapatra moved the High Court seeking substitution in place of the deceased election petitioner so that the challenge to Mallick's election could continue. Mohapatra also filed an application seeking condonation of delay in filing the substitution plea. However, the High Court dismissed the application on October 9 last year.
Justice S N Mishra, while rejecting the plea, observed that under Section 112(3) of the Representation of the People (R P) Act, 1951, an application for substitution had to be filed within 14 days from the date of publication of the gazette notification. "As required under Section 112(3) of the R.P. Act, the application for substitution ought to have been filed within 14 days from the date of gazette notification dated 19.05.2025. However, it has been filed after about 32 days of such notification, which is after 18 days beyond the permissible limitation period of 14 days," the High Court had noted. The court further ruled that since no valid substitution application had been filed within the prescribed period, "the election petition stands abated in view of the death of the election petitioner."
Arguments Before the Supreme Court
Challenging this order, Mohapatra has argued before the apex court that the election dispute should not be terminated without affording an opportunity to continue the proceedings in public interest. The matter is now scheduled to come up before the Supreme Court in August 2026.
