Focus Plus Digital Editor Sudhanshu Rout Moves Orissa High Court for Anticipatory Bail

Bhubaneswar: Focus Plus Digital Channel editor Sudhanshu Sekhar Rout has approached the Orissa High Court seeking anticipatory bail in connection with a criminal case registered against him at Capital Police Station in Bhubaneswar.

According to the e-Courts case details, an anticipatory bail application (ABLAPL No. 22613 of 2026) was filed before the Orissa High Court on July 27, 2026, in connection with Capital Police Station FIR No. 561/2026.

The case was registered after allegations that objectionable remarks were made against Odisha School and Mass Education Minister Nityananda Gond.

As part of the investigation, Capital Police have already arrested two associates of Sudhanshu Rout and produced them before the court. However, police have so far been unable to arrest Rout.

Meanwhile, the Commissionerate Police have reportedly written to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) after claiming to have found evidence suggesting that Rout had amassed substantial unaccounted wealth. The communication seeks a probe into the alleged accumulation of assets, with police claiming the value runs into several crores of rupees.

The anticipatory bail plea is now pending before the Orissa High Court. The court is yet to fix a date for hearing the matter.