Bhubaneswar, Aug. 6: The court of the special judge (vigilance) today issued a fresh summons to senior IAS officer Praffula Chandra Mishra, who had allegedly avoid receiving court summons earlier, to appear before the court on August 17.

Yesterday, the court had pasted a copy of the summons at the official residence of Mishra at Cantonment Road in Cuttack for failing to appear before the court.

The senior IAS officer has been accused of indulging in impropriety and irregularities while he was the chairman-cum-managing director of the state-run Orissa State Beverage Corporation (OSBC) from November 2000 to January 2002.

A case was registered against him by the vigilance department on May 24, 2003. At present, he is the commissioner, consolidation, in the Orissa state revenue department.

The earlier summons had asked Mishra to appear before the court on August 6, but he failed to turn up, giving the excuse of his mother’s illness.

His lawyer Atmaprakash Mohanty, who appeared on his behalf, pleaded to allow Mishra one month’s time as he was required to attend to his ailing mother. Mohanty said that the summons that were issued to him earlier did not mention his current designation (commissioner, consolidation). “In the summons, his designation was mentioned as commissioner, settlement,” he said.

Mohanty told reporters that the court accepted his plea and directed that a new summons with the right designation be issued to Mishra. “I gave in writing that I would accept the summons on Mishra’s behalf and make sure that he is present on August 17 before the court,” he said.

However, the vigilance public prosecutor, Dillip Chhotray said out that the summons was issued to his residence too. The second address on the same summons was his official one, in which his designation had been written wrong.

“He did not receive the summons sent to his residence or else he could have brought the mistake to the court’s notice,” argued Chhotray.