Orissa HC rejects convicted officer's plea against vigilance court order

The Orissa High Court today rejected the pleas of convicted IAS officer Vinod Kumar and three others challenging the order passed against them by a vigilance court.

Justice J P Dash ordered the four to appear before the vigilance court on August 4 when their quantum of punishment would be pronounced.

The high court, however, granted some relief to the IAS officer by directing vigilance sleuths not to execute the non-bailable warrant issued against Kumar by the vigilance court.

In an interim order earlier, the high court had stayed the operation of the vigilance court's order.

The vigilance court in Bhubaneswar had found the senior IAS officer guilty of financial irregularities to the tune of Rs 55 lakh during his tenure as managing director of Odisha Rural Housing Development Corporation (ORHDC). The Court had also issued NBW against him.

Soon after the conviction order, Kumar had gone underground. But through his counsel he approached the high court challenging the conviction order and sought to quash the NBW issued against him claiming that the vigilance court had not given him any opportunity of hearing.