Cuttack: The Orissa High Court on Monday further extended its interim order preventing any “coercive action” against senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) till May 5.
The protection has granted in connection his alleged link with a senior officer of a central PSU who was arrested in a Rs 10-lakh bribery case in December last year.
The High Court also extended the interim protection of the IAS officer’s wife and daughter, according to Sethi’s lawyer.
While hearing the writ petition filed by them, the bench of Justice S K Panigrahi extended their interim protection and scheduled the case on May 5.
Following a CBI raid at his residence on February 18, Sethi, along with his wife and daughter, filed a petition on February 24 seeking the HC’s intervention, alleging mental harassment by the officers of the central agency.
On February 25, the bench of Justice S K Panigrahi granted him interim protection as CBI’s counsel sought time to file a reply and listed the matter for March 4. The interim protection was subsequently extended till March 18.
In the petition, Sethi claimed that though Bridge and Roof Company (India) Ltd, a central public sector undertaking headquartered in Kolkata, has been working for the government for the past 10 years, he has no links with the company. He further stated that his house was searched by the CBI even though he was not named in the FIR. While his daughter’s laptop was seized during the raid, the bank account of his wife has since been seized, he added.
