The Orissa High Court Thursday deferred to next month the hearing into bail plea of newly elected BJD MLA Saroj Kumar Meher in a case of forcing a government junior engineer to do sit ups in public.
Police had on June 7 registered a case against Meher, the first time legislator from Patnagarh in Bolangir district, on charge of forcing Public Works Department junior engineer Jayakant Sabar to do sit-ups in public, the video of which had gone viral on social media.
While the engineers wife had lodged the police complaint in Patnagarh, the MLAs wife had moved the High Court seeking advance bail for her husband.
Taking up the bail application, Justice Shatrughna Pujahari Thursday called for the case diary (CD) and sought a detailed status report of the police investigations into the case made so far.
The matter will now come for hearing in the High Court again on July 9.
Meanwhile, Odisha unit of the BJP mounted attack on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the episode accusing him of trying to shield the ruling party legislator.
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BJP state unit secretary Lekhasri Samantasinghar told reporters that 14 days have elapsed since the incident took place but the police has failed to take any action against the BJD MLA as the chief minister, who is in charge of home department, is trying to protect him.
The BJP leader demanded that Meher be arrested before the ensuing assembly session begins on June 25.
As the junior engineer belongs to tribal community, the Bolangir District Adivasi Manch has also resented the BJD MLA's action and demanded immediate arrest of the lawmaker.
Opposition Congress has also condemned the action of the legislator and demanded stringent action against him.