India News | Odisha Court Issues Non-bailable Warrant Against Ex-Malkangiri DC for Non-appearance

Malkangiri (Odisha), Feb 3 (PTI) A court in Odisha's Malkangiri district has issued a non-bailable warrant against IAS officer Manish Agarwal for not appearing before it in connection with the death of his personal assistant during his tenure as the district collector in 2019.

Malkangiri Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court has issued the warrant against the officer while hearing a case relating to the death of Deba Narayan Panda.

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He died in mysterious circumstances while serving as the personal assistant of the former Malkangiri district collector.

In its order passed on February 1, the judge said, “It is observed that by keeping in view the importance of the case record, I found the law is well settled that the accused can avail the benefit of dispensation of personal attendance but the same cannot be claimed as a right.”

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As per the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, the first appearance of an accused in a criminal case must be physical, the court observed.

"So, the accused should first present himself before this court and then may seek exemption from personal attendance before the trial court which is the court of sessions," the judge said.

The court further said, “It is the duty of the accused to present himself before the court, introduce his advocate, give proof of his identity to the satisfaction of the court and then seek any exemption if required or then apply for any other relief."

The SDJM court posted the case to February 28 for execution of the non-bailable warrant and production of the accused person.

The case dates back to December 27, 2019, when Panda, then PA to collector Agarwal, went missing. His body was recovered from Satiguda Dam the next day.

The personal assistant's wife Banja Panda filed a complaint that her husband was murdered. The case was under trial at the SDJM court, an advocate said.

Agarwal was later transferred to the Planning and Convergence Department, where he currently serves as an additional secretary.

(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)