Cuttack: Trouble mounted for senior IAS officer Bishnupada Sethi as the Orissa High Court today dismissed his petition challenging the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid on his Bhubaneswar residence in connection with a ₹10 lakh bribery case.

Opposing the CBI action, Sethi had approached the High Court seeking a stay on further action. Initially, the court had granted him interim protection. However, the High Court today lifted the interim protection and rejected his plea.

In February, a team of the CBI had raided the official residence of Sethi in Bhubaneswar. The search reportedly continued for around 16 hours, during which Sethi was questioned by the CBI officers.

The case pertains to the Rs 10 lakh bribery case related to the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, a central public sector undertaking headquartered in Kolkata.

Sethi had claimed innocence in the case, saying, "No FIR was filed against me. I don't know anything about the raid. I have no connection with Chanchal Mukherjee (an accused in the case). I haven't received any favour from the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited. Chanchal Mukherjee had unrestricted access to the State Secretariat as he had earlier worked in various departments of the State Government."

The central agency has already arrested Chanchal Mukherjee, group general manager of the Bridge and Roof Company (India) Limited, after registering a case against him.

Mukherjee was arrested near a star hotel in Jayadev Vihar on 7 December 2024 while allegedly taking bribe from the director of Bhubaneswar-based Penta A Studio Private Ltd, Santosh Moharana, and a middleman, namely Debadutta Mohapatra.