Orissa High Court Comes To Rescue Of Tribal Family Ostracised For 18 Years Over Suspected Sorcery, Allows Them To Perform Death Rituals

The Orissa High Court has recently come to the rescue of a family, hailing from a tribal hamlet in the Bangiriposi region of Mayurbhanj district, statedly ostracized by the co-villagers for decades and even prevented from observing death rituals of a family member.

Sundar Mohan Majhi, a tribal man sought interference of the Court by filing a writ petition seeking action against the accused persons who allegedly held Kangaroo court and ostracized his family for the last 18 years by restricting them to access the public institutions, public well as well as village pond and also imposed fine of Rs.25,000/- in suspicion of practicing sorcery.

While the Single Bench of Dr. Justice Sanjeeb Kumar Panigrahi took up the case for hearing on 29.01.2025, the counsel appearing for the petitioner informed that the villagers had recently restricted the petitioner from performing rituals in the aftermath of the death of his wife. They had even gone to the extent of preventing the petitioner from harvesting crops from his own agricultural land.

Being aggrieved by such treatment, he was constrained to report the matter to the police, pursuant to which an FIR was lodged. However, the police allegedly did not take any action against the villagers.

After hearing the disturbing facts of the case, the Court considered it pertinent to order virtual presence of the Superintendent of Police (SP), Mayurbhanj and IIC of the concerned police station so as to seek their explanations over inaction despite egregious dereliction of fundamental rights of the petitioner and his family.

In compliance of the order, the SP and the IIC remained present through virtual appearance on 30.01.2025. After hearing the officials, the Court ordered the SP to file an affidavit indicating the steps taken on the issues highlighted in the writ petition, especially on the issue of the social boycott and restrictions in harvesting the paddy from his own agricultural land.

He was also directed to explain as to the steps taken by the police administration to bring the petitioner to the mainstream against the wrath of such orthodox people.

“In the meantime, the police administration shall extend assistance to the Petitioner to perform the death ritual of his deceased wife. It is also made clear that, no member of any NGO except the family members of the Petitioner should be there to perform the death ritual without any assistance. The police administration shall also take steps to allow the Petitioner to use the water from common well including the tube-well and other common resources of the village,” it further ordered.

The matter has now been listed on 25.02.2025.

Pertinently, Justice Panigrahi had come down heavily on the police authorities of the State last year for their 'complacence' in failing to take action against the 'Kangaroo Courts' held in dereliction of provisions of law. In that case, the Court was hearing a writ petition filed by the mother of a victim girl whose nude photograph was made viral by some miscreants of her village.

Subsequent to the registration of FIR, the villagers ganged up and convened a 'Kangaroo Court' where the petitioner and the victim were slammed for initiating a police case against the accused persons for making her private photos viral. Moreover, to punish the petitioner as well as her daughter, the villagers banished them and socially ostracized them.

Noting police inaction in that case, the Court had ordered the Inspector General of Police, Central Division, Odisha to personally visit the village to restore the peaceful living of the petitioner and the victim girl.

Case Title: Sundar Mohan Majhi v. State of Odisha & Ors.

Case No: W.P.(C) No. 2750 of 2025

Date of Order: January 30, 2025

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. B.K. Mishra, Advocate

Counsel for the State: Mr. Sanjay Rath, Addl. Govt. Advocate

Click Here To Read/Download Order