Cuttack, April 15: Orissa High Court today directed the state Assembly Speaker to file his reply on a contempt petition filed against him.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Odisha Nationalist Congress Party president Utkal Kesari Parida seeking contempt action against Speaker Pradip Amat for his non-compliance of the court order on the question of disqualification of four NCP MLAs who had joined the BJD.

The division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice B.N. Mohapatra directed the Speaker to file a reply in response to the petition within a week.

According to the petition, the court had directed the Speaker on September 27 last year to take a decision within eight weeks. The Supreme Court had also issued directions to Amat on December 13, last year, to complete the proceedings by January 7.

On April 3, the bench had asked the additional government advocate to take instructions from the Speaker and inform the court by April 12 as to why the court’s order has not been complied with. But when the matter came up for hearing today, Amat’s counsel Pitambar Acharya sought more time.

“The bench directed submission of Pradip Amat’s reply by April 22 and fixed April 24 for hearing on the contempt petition,” Odisha NCP president Utkal Kesari Parida’s counsel Gopal Agarwal told The Telegraph.