Berhampur Superintendent of Police (SP), Dr. Sarabhana Vivek M., appeared before the High Court and tendered an unconditional apology for a controversial statement made during the trial of the lawyer Pitavas Panda murder case.
The High Court had previously expressed displeasure and sought a reply from the SP regarding his public comments about an "election case link" between two individuals, Vikram Panda and Shiv Shankar Das, involved in the murder trial.
The court had questioned why the remarks should not constitute contempt of court.
Following Dr. Vivek's in-person apology on Tuesday, a bench headed by Justice Shashikant Mishra ordered not to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the SP, bringing the matter to a close.