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The Orissa High Court has issued an arrest warrant against Aravind Agrawal, the Higher Education Secretary, for contempt of court.
Agrawal, a 2007 batch IAS officer, failed to comply with a court order related to a case filed by Tapan Kumar Pattanaik, a retired employee of the Higher Education Department, who was denied an increment. The case originated from a previous order dated July 30, 2025, which required the government to decide on a specific representation within eight weeks. "With the above observations, the writ petition is disposed off, giving liberty to the petitioner to make an appropriate representation supported by evidentiary material within two weeks and if one is made, the jurisdictional OPs to take a decision thereon within eight (8) weeks next following. In that connection, all contentions are kept open. It hardly needs to be stated that the decision in contemplation shall be considered keeping in view the aforesaid orders of the Apex Court. Now, no costs...." During a hearing on December 12, 2025, the Additional Government Advocate (AGA) stated that compliance would be reported by the next hearing. As of January 16, 2026, no compliance has been reported. The judge characterised this as a "breach of undertaking" and as "aggravated contempt." The Court ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant against Arvind Agrawal to ensure his production before the Court on January 22, 2026. "Despite the threat contained in the last part of the order dated 16.12.2025 passed in this case, there is no compliance. The contemnors appear to be buffalo-skinned, to say the least. In the above circumstances, issue a warrant of arrest and produce the contemnors before this Court on 22.01.2026. However, if the order is complied with in the meanwhile, no coercive action shall be taken against the contemnors in terms of this order," stated the court order. (ANI)
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