Bhubaneswar: In a significant development, a Khordha district sessions court on Wednesday dismissed a criminal revision petition against BJD President Naveen Patnaik and former IAS officer VK Pandian over allegations of misuse of government funds for helicopter tours.
Khordha District and Sessions Judge Biranchi Narayan Mohanty held that the petitioner had failed to substantiate any offence against Naveen Patnaik and VK Pandian, had not followed the mandatory procedure prescribed under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and lacked the locus standi to file the complaint.
The court also found no illegality in the March 25, 2026 order of the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Bhubaneswar, which had dismissed the original complaint. The criminal revision petition was rejected as “devoid of merit”.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Sudhir Charan Mohanty at Capital Police Station in 2024, alleging that Naveen Patnaik and Pandian had undertaken around 300 helicopter tours by spending approximately Rs 500 crore from the state exchequer without obtaining necessary official sanctions.
After no FIR was registered, the complainant approached the DCP and subsequently moved the SDJM court. The SDJM, however, dismissed the complaint on the ground that the allegations did not disclose any cognizable offence. The complainant subsequently approached the Khurda district sessions court challenging the SDJM’s order.
Appearing for Naveen Patnaik, former Advocate General Ashok Kumar Parija and advocate Sitanshu Mohan Dwivedi argued that the complainant had failed to produce any supporting material to substantiate the allegations.
The sessions court accepted the substance of the defence submissions and observed that the petitioner had neither made out a case under the penal provisions referred to in the complaint nor complied with the mandatory requirements of Section 173(4) of the BNSS before approaching the court.
This court is of the considered opinion that the complaint/petitioner neither made out any case under any of the penal sections referred to in the complaint petition with supported materials nor adhered to the mandatory compliance of Section 173(4) of BNSS, 2023 before presenting the complaint nor he had got any locus-standi to present the complaint, the judge said.
The court consequently held that there was no illegality in the SDJM’s March 25 order dismissing the complaint and rejected the criminal revision petition.
For Naveen Patnaik, whose nearly 25-year tenure was marked by a strong emphasis on good governance, welfare and administrative stability, the dismissal further reinforces his standing as a leader whose record continues to withstand scrutiny. Pandian, who was closely associated with several of Odisha’s major development and transformation initiatives during the previous government, also emerges strengthened by the court’s order.
Odisha: Court Dismisses Helicopter Misuse Case Against Naveen Patnaik, VK Pandian News Room Odisha.
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