CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Friday stayed the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by the court of Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM), Malkangiri against IAS officer Manish Agarwal in connection with the mysterious death of his personal assistant (PA) during his tenure as Malkangiri collector in 2019.
The Malkangiri court had issued NBWs against Agarwal on February 1 and posted the case to February 28 for execution of the NBW and production of the former collector. The warrant was issued for his repeated failure to physically appear in court despite multiple summons.
Agarwal had challenged the NBW in the high court and also sought direction to the SDJM court for permitting him to appear through an advocate as per the provision under Section 205 of CrPC.
The single judge bench of Justice SK Panigrahi admitted the petition, issued notice to the state government, and directed to the list the matter for final hearing on March 5.
Justice Panigrahi also ordered, “As an interim measure, it is directed that operation of the order of NBW dated 01.02.2025 passed in the case pending in the court of the learned SDJM, Malkangiri, shall remain stayed till the next date of listing of this matter.”
Deba Narayan Panda, the PA to then Malkangiri collector Agrawal, had gone missing from his office on December 27, 2019. The next day, his body was recovered from Satiguda dam.
Police initially registered a suicide and unnatural death case but Panda’s wife made an allegation of murder against the then collector. Thereafter, Agarwal and three other staff were booked under sections 302 (murder), 506 (intimidation), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 204 (destruction of a document or electronic record) of IPC.