CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has issued an arrest warrant against commissioner-cum-secretary of state Higher Education (HE) department Arvind Agrawal for ‘aggravated contempt of court’ arising out of non-compliance with its earlier order concerning a retired employee’s grievance over denial of an increment.
The case traces back to a writ petition filed by Tapan Kumar Pattanaik, an employee under the HE department, who alleged that he was denied a due increment as he was to retire soon after. Pattanaik had submitted a detailed representation to the authorities on April 7, 2025, seeking grant of the increment, but no decision was taken despite availability of all relevant materials. He had then approached the court.
The high court on July 30, 2025, directed the authorities to decide the representation within eight weeks and communicate the outcome to the petitioner. During the hearing, the state counsel argued that such increments are not automatic and depend on fulfilment of prescribed conditions. Nevertheless, the counsel undertook that the grievance would be examined in a time-bound manner, keeping all contentions open.
The court disposed of the writ petition on that assurance, while cautioning that delay under the guise of seeking information would not be brooked.
Alleging non-compliance of the order, Pattanaik later filed a contempt petition. On December 12, 2025, the court granted time to the authorities after the additional government advocate submitted that compliance would be reported by the next date. However, no compliance was placed on record.
In its order uploaded on Monday, the court observed that there was not only non-compliance of its directions but also breach of undertaking given to the court, amounting to “aggravated contempt”. Consequently, it directed issuance of an arrest warrant against the “sole contemnor” (commissioner-cum-secretary of the department Arvind Agrawal) to secure his presence on January 22, 2026, but gave him a final opportunity to avoid the coercive action by reporting compliance in the meantime.