Cuttack: Orissa high court on Monday granted bail to former Berhampur MLA and BJD’s Ganjam unit president Bikram Panda in the murder case of senior advocate and BJP leader Pitabash Panda, but strongly criticised police for violating mandatory safeguards during his arrest.Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra held that the arresting officer had failed to comply with sections 47 and 48 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The lapse – not informing the grounds of arrest when taking into custody, the court said, infringed on Panda’s fundamental right under Article 22(1) of the Constitution.Expressing concern over continuing police lapses, Justice Mohapatra noted that despite Supreme Court rulings, police failed to adhere to mandatory arrest requirements.It directed the registry to send the judgment to the additional chief secretary, home department, and DGP, Odisha, for circulation of the Supreme Court’s arrest guidelines to all police stations and other authorities empowered to make arrests, with instructions to “follow such directives strictly”.Panda was arrested on Nov 6 last year in connection with the killing of Pitabash Panda. He had moved high court seeking bail on Dec 23, 2025, with the court reserving its order on July 31, 2026.Justice Mohapatra declared his arrest “vitiated” and ordered that he be “forthwith set at liberty”. At the same time, the judge clarified that the finding regarding the legality of his arrest would have no bearing on the merits of the chargesheet or the pending trial.Panda was directed to furnish a bail bond under Section 91 of the BNSS to the satisfaction of the trial court. His release will be subject to conditions, including that he shall not “harass, threaten, terrorize or influence” the victim’s family, informant or prosecution witnesses.The court further warned that violation of it’s or the trial court’s conditions could lead to his re-arrest.