Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Police ultimately failed to keep judicial wisdom eclipsed by misuse of powers vested in them and finally, the Additional District Judge, Cuttack has granted bail to Trade Union leaders Devi Prasanna Nayak and Subash Chandra Singh, President and General Secretary respectively of Utkalmani Newspaper Employees Association as well as to Brajabhai well recognized as the man who had reformed the premiere daily into rejuvenation. They are implicated in mischievously built up concocted cases, which on hearing are bound to collapse; because the allegations are blatantly wrong and entirely baseless. We are sure; no fabricated case can earn judicial support in the long run.
The Samaja, people’s paper of Orissa, built up with constant flow of people’s patronization being the paper founded by their beloved leader, late Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, has, behind the back of the people, in the mean time, been transformed into a den of swindlers, manipulators, self-seekers, schemers, exploiters, unfair labor practitioners, womanizers, and pet women who sans qualms can use their muliebrity to malign any gentleman disadvantageous to the men of moral turpitude.
Devi Prasanna Nayak and Subash Singh are determined to save the Samaja from this den. They were therefore in the hit list of the fellows that dwell the den.
On the other hand, Servants of the People Society (SoPS) of which Utkalmani Gopabandhu was the leading light before his premature death has captured the Samaja under the plea of a WILL attributed to him. But a few months ago a document stumbled upon; suspicion is in the rise that the WILL on the basis of which SoPS has occupied the Samaja is not a genuine WILL
This has led to formation of an instrument to save the Samaja which is known as Save the Samaja Forum (SSF).
Even as SSF has been harping on investigation into the reality or not of the WILL, it has come to light in course of investigation by Justice Arijit Pasayat that there is swindling of the Samaja funds to the tune of several crores of rupees as well as instances of grievous moral turpitude. To preempt punitive action, a gang of fellows marked by the Pasayat Committee for offences, has, through a stage-managed election, which a competent judge has observed to be incongruous with the constitution of SoPS, occupied the Samaja and in order to render the investigation report inconsequential, has framed up Sri Nayak and others to create panicky amongst the workers of the news daily so that from headquarters of the paper their reign over SoPS as well will continue without any hurdle.
Cantonment P.S. of Cuttack has obliged this gang so far.
We will focus on this P.S. later, but for now, to us, the happy occasion to mark is, enlargement of Nayak, Singh and Brajabhai on bail. Their appeal for bail was given legal support by the State’s new generation legal luminary, Advocate Bibhu Prasad Tripathy as well as by Advocates Milan Kanungo, Manoranjan Mishra, Devi Prasad Dhal, and Soyed Hidaytulla (Chand babu).
In course of the cases, the complainant had tried to meddle in the matter through its lawyer. But Sri Tripathy had raised a brilliant protest against participation of the complainant through a lawyer in opposing the bail petition. He had cited various case laws to apprise the judge of the soft threads of law over the issue and despite the Samaja occupiers having engaged a top ranking criminal law practitioner to plead for them, that was rejected on elaborate hearing.
Instead of acting the desired sentinel of the people, the Samaja now appears a habitual litigant. People of Orissa do certainly not like to see it in this condition. And, we hope, a day shall soon come, the Samaja will be free from the hoodlums.
We are thankful to judiciary for having given us – the working people of Orissa – a great moment to celebrate the May Day by granting two brilliant trade union leaders – Devi Prasanna Nayak and Subas Chandra Singh and Brajabhai, the man that had brought discernible reforms and rejuvenation to Samaja – the much awaited bail, out of the dark tunnel of manipulation, which the powerful newspaper management in nexus with police black sheep had so cunningly created.
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