Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim gets interim relief from Supreme Court

Senior Congress leader and Cuttack-Barabati MLA Mohammed Moquim has got an interim relief as the Supreme Court on Tuesday reprieved him from surrendering till the next hearing on April 22 in connection with the Odisha Rural Housing and Development Corporation Ltd (ORHDC) case.

A week ago, the Orissa High Court had upheld the verdict of a special vigilance court that sentenced Moquim and others to three-year imprisonment in a decade-old loan irregularities case.

On September 29, 2022, Moquim, the managing director of Metro Builders Pvt Ltd, was convicted by a vigilance court for obtaining a pecuniary advantage in favour of Moquim’s company in guide of loans meant for rural poor from ORHDC.

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Moquim had moved the Orissa High Court challenging the order.  Later, the High Court on October 19, 2022 stayed the conviction pending appeal.

Odisha Vigilance then filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court against the October 19 order of the High Court. The Apex court on September 22, ordered the High Court to dispose of the appeal within six months.