Cuttack, Mar 5 (PTI) The Orissa High Court has extended its interim order preventing any coercive action against senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi and his family by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) until March 18 in a bribery case.

The court passed on the order during a hearing on Tuesday after the CBI submitted a reply affidavit, prompting the court to allow the petitioners to file a rejoinder and defer further proceedings.

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The case pertains to Sethi's alleged connection with a senior officer of a central PSU, who was arrested in December last year on the charge of accepting a Rs 10 lakh bribe.

Following a CBI raid at his residence on February 18, Sethi, along with his wife and daughter, approached the high court on February 24, alleging mental harassment by the investigating agency officials.

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On February 25, Justice S K Panigrahi granted interim protection to Sethi after the CBI sought time to respond to his plea. During the latest hearing on Tuesday, Justice Panigrahi extended the family's protection and said the matter would be heard again on March 18.

Sethi has denied any involvement with the PSU, Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, which has been working with the Odisha government for over a decade.

He stated that despite not being named in the FIR, the CBI conducted a search at his residence, seized his daughter's laptop, and froze his wife's bank account.

The bribery case, which led to the arrest of Chanchal Mukherjee, a senior official of the PSU, brought Sethi under the scanner after Mukherjee allegedly named him during interrogation.

The CBI had earlier issued a notice to Sethi, citing his possible knowledge of crucial facts related to the case.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)