In a relief for Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, the Orissa High Court (HC) on Friday admitted for hearing his petition challenging a trial court’s verdict that has sentenced him to life imprisonment in connection with a case in 2014.
Panda had moved the High Court on July 17 claiming that the conviction order against him is illegal, erroneous and unsustainable in the eye of law and was passed “without application of mind”.
On May 18, the Berhampur Additional District and Sessions Judge Court-1 sentenced Panda to life imprisonment under Section-121 (Waging War Against the State) of IPC. The court also imposed a penalty of `10,000 on him.
After the verdict, Panda’s counsel Deepak Patnaik had said police slapped several false cases against his client following his arrest in 2014. “Panda has already been acquitted in 52 out of around 135 cases. We will move higher court to challenge the judgement,” Patnaik had stated.
On July 17, 2014, police had arrested Panda from Badabazar in Brahmapur and seized several firearms, cash.