Bhubaneswar, April 10 -- In a major jolt to senior Congress leader Mohammad Moquim ahead of the 2024 elections, the Orissa High Court on Wednesday upheld the lower court verdict that had earlier awarded a three-year jail term to him in connection with the alleged Odisha Rural Housing & Development Corporation (ORHDC) corruption case.

It is pertinent to mention here that a special vigilance court in September 2022 awarded the jail term to the Barabati-Cuttack MLA. However, the Congress leader soon got interim bail from Orissa High Court on a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties.

The vigilance court had then also awarded a three-year jail term to the director of Metro Builders Private Limited, Peeyush Mohanty and former OHRDC company ...