Orissa High Court issues arrest warrant against Higher Education Secretary Aravind Agrawal

The troubles of Higher Education Secretary Aravind Agrawal intensified on Tuesday after the Orissa High Court issued an arrest warrant against him for failing to comply with the court’s directions. The High Court took serious note of the non-implementation of its earlier orders and issued the warrant in a ‘contempt of court’ case.

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According to the court’s directive, police have been instructed to ensure senior bureaucrat Agrawal’s appearance before the court on January 22. The High Court has clarified that compliance with its orders could provide him relief from arrest. However, continued disregard of judicial instructions led the court to adopt a strict stance in the matter.

The warrant has been issued in connection with an earlier case filed by Tapan Pattnaik, a retired Reader of Kujang College. The court observed that repeated failure to follow judicial directions amounts to contempt and undermines the authority of the judiciary. The case has now put the senior IAS officer under significant legal scrutiny.

However, no comments were received from the Higher Education Secretary in this regard.