IAS officer M Agarwal, earlier denied respite by Orissa High Court, gets interim bail

The Supreme Court of India has granted interim bail to senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Manish Agarwal, who is facing abetment of suicide charges. Five years ago, when Agarwal was posted as the district collector of Malkangiri, Odisha, his personal assistant had killed self.

Agarwal, who currently holds the position of additional secretary in the planning and convergence department, was compelled to seek relief from the highest judiciary body following the Orissa High Court's earlier dismissal of his anticipatory bail plea in April.

Attempted Anticipatory Bail

During a preliminary hearing on the matter, a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta directed the issuance of a notice with a return date set for 22nd July. 

Agarwal had sought temporary protection from arrest, expressing apprehension about possible detention during court proceedings after a Malkangiri magistrate refused his plea for exemption. He is charged under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to abetment of suicide.

The Orissa High Court had previously denied the anticipatory bail application, with the presiding judge finding no merit in the arguments for such specific relief.

Incident Background

The case concerns the disappearance of Deba Narayan Panda, who was Agarwal's personal assistant, on 27th December 2019. Panda's body was discovered the following day at Satiguda dam.

Initially classified as an unnatural death and suspected suicide, the case took a turn when Panda's wife accused Agarwal of murder. The officer was subsequently charged under several IPC sections, including murder and destruction of evidence. 

However, the High Court later concluded that no prima facie evidence supported those charges but upheld proceedings solely on the basis of the suicide abetment.