Bhubaneswar, March 6: The district court has excluded former law minister and five-time Soro MLA Raghunath Mohanty and his wife Pritilata from a domestic violence case that was lodged against them by their estranged daughter-in-law Barsa Swony Chaudhury.

After Chaudhury brought the allegation of domestic violence and dowry harassment in 2013, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had dropped Mohanty, who was holding then the law portfolio, from his council of ministers. Later, Mohanty was also denied a BJD ticket.

Chaudhury alleged that her husband Rajashree Mohanty and his parents Raghunath and Pritilata had tortured her for more dowry. A case of domestic violencewas lodged against them. Earlier, a lower court had rejected an appeal by the minister and his wife to drop their names.

"We had moved the district judge's court after our plea was rejected in the court of the sub-divisional judicial magistrate. The district judge heard our appeal and ordered that the names of Raghunath and Pritilata were to be deleted," said the minister's lawyer Harekrushna Dash.

Mohanty said: "I have full faith in the judiciary and this order will help us in other cases. The truth will prevail."

In March 2013, Balasore Town police station registered a dowry torture case against Raghunath, Pritilata, their daughter Rupashree Madhual, son-in-law Suvendu Madhual and Rajashree following Chaudhury's compliant.

Chaudhury's allegations resulted in a huge hue and cry all over the state and forced the government to order the human rights protection cell of the state police to take up the case. Rajashree was arrested from Choudwar, while Raghunath and his wife were caught from a flat in Calcutta.

In a petition, Chaudhuryhas sought maintenance from her husband and a case of divorce is also pending in the family court. As a temporary arrangement, the family court on January 14 this year awarded a Rs 25,000 one-time interim maintenance and a Rs 5,000 monthly maintenance to her.