Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Jaynarayan Mishra, the BJP MLA representing Odisha and the Leader of Opposition (LoP), was greatly relieved when the Supreme Court recently gave him temporary protection from arrest in the case involving the alleged mistreatment of a lady police officer. The two-judge bench made up of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Prashant Kumar Mishra not only granted Mishra interim relief but also sent notice to the Odisha government requesting a response within four weeks. Give notice, with a four-week return period. The petitioner is shielded from arrest in the meantime in relation to the aforementioned matter, the bench declared.
The Orissa High Court’s ruling from November 23, 2023, which rejected Mishra’s bid for anticipatory bail in the case, was being appealed by the top court. Senior attorney Maninder Singh argued on behalf of Mishra, telling the court that his client is an MLA and the LOP in the Assembly and that he wasn’t even called upon for the case. He went on to say that the state HC ought to have taken this situation into account and given him relief.
Both the victim and the complainant, Dhanupali police station IIC Anita Pradhan, claim that Mishra physically attacked the female officer after accusing her of accepting bribes on February 15 of last year during a BJP protest in Sambalpur. But the Sambalpur MLA refuted the accusation, saying Pradhan had shoved him.
