CUTTACK:

The Orissa High Court on Tuesday issued notices to two individuals claiming the prestigious Padma Shri Award 2023 under the same name, directing them to appear before the court on February 24 with relevant documents to support their claims.

The case inter alia involves Dr Antaryami Mishra, an Odia litterateur and a practising doctor, who has filed a writ petition alleging that another person with the same name, a journalist with no published works, fraudulently secured the award by impersonation.

The Padma awards for the year 2023 were announced on January 25 and were conferred upon the winners by President Droupadi Murmu on April 5 of the same year. Among the list of 106 Padma awardees of that year, the name of Shri Antaryami Mishra was found in the list for the field of Literature and Education.

During the hearing on the day, a single-judge bench of Justice S K Panigrahi observed that despite the rigorous verification process by the State government, a mix-up had occurred due to identical names, raising serious concerns over the credibility of the award selection process.

The petitioner claims to have authored 29 books in Odia and other Indian languages, leading to his name being included in the Padma Shri Awardee list of 2023. However, he alleges that the award was mistakenly conferred on the journalist, who he asserts has no literary contributions.

The court has directed both claimants to be physically present along with all relevant publications and materials to substantiate their claims. Notices have been issued to the respondents, including the Union of India, which has been asked to take instructions on the matter.

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