Orissa HC Imposes ₹10K Cost On Man Claiming To Be Odia Litterateur, Demanding 'Padma Shri' & Alleging Wrongful Award On His Name-Sake

The Orissa High Court on Wednesday imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on a man named Antaryami Mishra who had stated to be a doctor by profession and an Odia litterateur, for not only claiming his entitlement to the country's fourth highest civilian honour–'Padma Shri' but also disputing conferment of the same on a journalist having the same name.

Dr. Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi in his order observed –

“Considering the facts and submissions made, this Court is of the view that the Petitioner has approached this Court on the basis of some phone calls from somebody stating that he is the recipient of the “Padmashri Award” for the year 2023 in the field of Literature. Despite a few adjournments were granted to the Petitioner to place on record all the documents which embolden his claim, the Petitioner has failed to submit any document where his name has been figured as a “Padmashri Awardee”. This shows that the Petitioner has unnecessarily created controversy and also demeaned the prestige of the award and tried to malign the image of the Opposite Party No.2.”

Background

A writ petition was filed by one Antaryami Mishra, who was stated to be a doctor by profession and an Odia litterateur. He had earlier informed the Court about his impressive portfolio, wherein he has 29 books in Odia as well as other languages to his credit. He claimed that for his significant contribution to the literature, he was selected to receive the 'Padma Shri' award in 2023.

However, he alleged that the private opposite party, who is his namesake (a person with the same name) impersonated him and fraudulently secured the prestigious civilian decoration. The petitioner further conveyed to the Court that the private opposite party is a journalist having no authorship to his credit, which makes his candidature unlikely for an honour of such a high order.

The Court was consternated by the fact that even after detailed verifications by the Government, such an unpleasant controversy involving a dignified bestowal cropped up seeking judicial intervention. Upon hearing the above submissions of the petitioner, the bench had issued notice to the Union of India as well as the namesake of the petitioner on February 11, 2025.

“This Court finds it rather surprising that, despite the State Government playing a key role in the verification process and various paraphernalia are followed before the Padma Shri Award is declared, yet such type of claim and counterclaim kind of situation arises just because the names are identical. It is a great recognition conferred on persons for their distinguished service in various fields,” it had observed.

Considering the seriousness of the issue, the court had earlier ordered both the parties to remain physically present before the Court on February 24, 2025 with all relevant supporting materials. Subsequently, on the request of the private opposite party, the Court had restrained the media from publishing any news pertaining to the case until dispute involved in the matter is finally decided.

Findings

It was submitted on behalf of the petitioner that he had applied for conferment of the honour for his contribution to the literature. He claimed to have received call from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India relating to his selection for 'Padma Shri Award' for his dedication towards the Odia Language and Literature.

Despite being granted several opportunities to place on record all documents which substantiates his claim for the civilian award, the Court observed, the petitioner failed to submit any supporting document which indicated that he has been selected to receive the prestigious award.

It also expressed surprise over the fact that he knocked the door of the Court on the basis of some phone calls from “somebody” stating that he is the recipient of the 'Padma Shri Award' for the year 2023 in the field of Literature.

“In such view of the matter, this Court deems it appropriate to impose a cost of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand Only) on the Petitioner for unnecessarily wasting the valuable time of this Court. The same shall be paid to the Orissa High Court Bar Association, Cuttack for purchasing of books within a period of ten days from today,” the Court ordered.

Case Title: Antaryami Mishra v. Union of India & Anr.

Case No: W.P.(C) No. 9971 of 2023

Date of Order: April 16, 2025

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. Sangramjit Panda, Advocate

Counsel for the Respondents: Mr. P. K. Parhi, DSGI along with Mr. D. Gochhayat, CGC; Mr. N.K. Mishra, Sr. Advocate along with associates; Mr. S.S. Das, Sr. Advocate along with Ms. S. Das, Advocate

Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ori) 66

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