Orissa High Court issues arrest warrant against IAS officer Aravind Agrawal for contempt of court

Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has issued an arrest warrant against senior IAS officer Aravind Agrawal, who is serving as commissioner-cum-secretary of the state Higher Education Department. The action was taken in connection with an aggravated contempt of court arising from failure to comply with an earlier judicial order.

Dispute over denied increment

The case originated from a writ petition filed by Tapan Kumar Pattanaik, an employee under the Higher Education Department. Pattanaik had claimed that he was unfairly denied a due increment because he was close to retirement. He had submitted a detailed representation to the authorities on April 7, 2025, requesting a grant of the increment, but alleged that no decision was taken despite all relevant records being available.

Left with no option, Pattanaik approached the High Court.

Court’s earlier directions

On July 30, 2025, the High Court directed the authorities to decide on Pattanaik’s representation within eight weeks and inform him of the outcome. During the hearing, the state counsel argued that increments are not automatic and depend on the fulfilment of specific conditions. At the same time, the counsel assured the court that the grievance would be examined within a fixed timeframe.

Based on this assurance, the court disposed of the writ petition, while clearly warning that delays on the pretext of seeking further information would not be tolerated.

Alleging that the order was not followed, Pattanaik later filed a contempt petition. On December 12, 2025, the court granted additional time to the authorities after the additional government advocate stated that compliance would be reported by the next hearing. However, no compliance report was submitted even after that assurance.

Arrest warrant issued

In an order uploaded on Monday, the High Court observed that there was not only non-compliance with its directions but also a breach of the undertaking given to the court. The bench described this conduct as aggravated contempt of court.

As a result, the court ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant against Aravind Agrawal, terming him the sole contemnor in the matter. The warrant has been issued to secure his presence before the court on January 22, 2026. At the same time, the court has given him one final opportunity to avoid coercive action by reporting compliance with its earlier order before the scheduled date.