Cuttack: Orissa high court has rejected the interim bail plea of Subash Chandra Sahoo, an accounts section staffer of the district education office (DEO), Cuttack, after a document filed in support of his application on medical grounds was prima facie found to be not genuine.However, Justice Gourishankar Satapathy, issued notices to Sahoo and his wife to explain the circumstances under which the “fraudulent document” was produced before the court “to pollute the stream of justice”. The case has been posted for Aug 24.While Sahoo had filed the bail petition, his wife was deponent of the interlocutory application (IA) seeking interim bail on the basis of the document – a letter from Dr Satyajit Padhiary which apparently indicated the necessity of Sahoo undergoing an angiogram test.Sahoo was arrested by Odisha vigilance on May 14 in connection with the alleged embezzlement of more than Rs 51.53 lakh in govt funds. The vigilance agency has alleged that govt money was siphoned off through fraudulent generation of salaries in the names of fake employees by manipulating govt financial portals.During the hearing on Aug 7, additional public prosecutor Sanjay Kumar Das produced documents before the court, including the purported letter from Dr Satyajit Padhiary stating that the document titled “To whom it may concern” had not been issued by him.The court noted that the petitioner had annexed with his IA a letter titled “to whom may it consider”, purportedly issued by Dr Padhiary. The judge observed that the document “appears to be not a genuine document”.The court further recorded that Dr Padhiary appeared through video conferencing and confirmed in the presence of lawyers representing both sides that he had not issued the letter.Sahoo’s counsel, Abhas Mohanty, expressed remorse for having accepted the brief and urged the court to pass an appropriate order, including imposition of heavy costs on the petitioner.Taking note of the material placed before it, the court said the document produced on behalf of the petitioner “appears to be not a genuine one” and held that there was no merit in the interim bail application. The plea was accordingly rejected.As Mohanty and his associates expressed unwillingness to continue representing Sahoo, the court also directed the petitioner to engage another counsel or provide necessary instructions on the matter.
