The Orissa High Court has granted extended interim protection to senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi and his family, preventing any coercive action by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) until March 18. This decision comes amidst ongoing investigations into a bribery case involving a senior officer of a central public sector undertaking (PSU).
During a hearing on Tuesday, presided over by Justice S K Panigrahi, the court allowed the petitioners to file a rejoinder after the CBI submitted a reply affidavit. The case has been deferred for further proceedings until the next hearing date, also set for March 18.
The bribery investigation traces back to the arrest of Chanchal Mukherjee, a senior official of the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, in December last year. Mukherjee was charged with accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh. The focus shifted to Sethi following a raid by the CBI at his residence on February 18. The raid, which Sethi and his family described as causing mental harassment, led them to seek legal recourse from the high court.
Justice Panigrahi had initially granted the Sethi family interim protection on February 25, after Sethi claimed no direct involvement with the PSU implicated in the bribery case. Despite not being named directly in the FIR, Sethi highlighted that his home was searched, his daughter’s laptop was seized, and his wife’s bank account was frozen during the CBI’s investigations.
Sethi has vehemently denied any connections with the accused PSU, which has been engaged with the Odisha government for more than a decade. The CBI, in turn, has indicated Sethi’s potential involvement by noting his possible possession of crucial information concerning the case.
