Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of senior IAS officer Manish Agarwal, accused of abetting the suicide of his personal assistant five years ago while serving as Malkangiri’s collector.
Agarwal, currently additional secretary in the Planning and Convergence department, filed for pre-arrest bail in the HC after the SDJM court in Malkangiri declined his request for exemption from personal appearance during the trial.
The IAS officer sought interim protection, expressing that if he could be remanded to custody if he appears before the SDJM Court on the ground that offence under Section 306 of the IPC (abetting suicide) is triable by the court of sessions.
However, Justice V Narasingh, citing a Supreme Court observation on balancing individual liberty with societal law and order, found no merit in Agarwal’s submissions and declined to grant anticipatory bail. “Just as liberty is precious for an individual, so is the interest of the society in maintaining law and order. Both are extremely important for the survival of a civilised society,” the court said.
Deba Narayan Panda, who was PA to then collector Agarwal, went missing on December 27, 2019. His body was found the next day in the Satiguda dam. It was initially suspected to be a case of death by suicide. However, around six months after the incident, Panda’s wife alleged that he was murdered by the Malkangiri collector and some of his office staff.
Following an order of the SDJM Court, Agarwal was booked under sSections 302 (murder), 506 (intimidation), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 204 (destruction of document or electronic record) of the IPC.
On June 26, 2023, the HC ruled that there is no prima facie case against Agarwal for the offences, but directed the trial court to proceed against him for abetment of suicide. Subsequently, the IAS officer challenged the HC order in the Supreme Court. However, the apex court declined to interfere with the order in November 2024.
