n a significant development, the Orissa High Court on Monday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of suspended Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Bishnupada Sethi, who is under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with a corruption case.
A single-judge bench of Justice V Narasingh vacated the interim protection granted to Sethi on July 3, which had barred the CBI from taking any coercive action against him until further hearing. The court emphasized that granting pre-arrest bail in the present circumstances would hinder effective investigation.
“Considering that the Petitioner is a Senior Officer in the rank of Indian Administrative Service, this Court finds force in the submission of the learned counsel for the CBI that his interrogation being ‘ensconced’ by an order of anticipatory bail would be a fruitless exercise in the light of the materials unearthed,” the court observed.
Highlighting the seriousness of the allegations, the judge noted, “It is often said that power of corruption is like a shadow, it follows those who wield power. The Petitioner undoubtedly has the power being a senior official of the Indian Administrative Service. On a conspectus of materials on record, whether corruption is his shadow merits probe unhindered and unimpeded by the exceptional remedy of pre-arrest bail.”
According to the CBI, the corruption case stems from a Rs 37 crore project awarded to Bridge and Roof Company for the development of schools for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Odisha. At the time, Sethi was serving as Secretary of the SC and ST Development Department.
The central agency alleged that in December, it seized Rs 10 lakh from one Debadatta Mohapatra, who had allegedly received the bribe from the company’s director, Chanchal Mukherjee, on behalf of Sethi.
With Monday’s order, the High Court has cleared the way for the CBI to proceed with its investigation and potential custodial interrogation of the suspended bureaucrat.
