The Supreme Court has deferred hearing on the Chhattisgarh government’s appeal challenging bail granted to Chaitanya Baghel in the alleged liquor scam cases. The bail was earlier granted by the High Court citing parity with co-accused and prolonged custody.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Thursday postponed the hearing on the appeal filed by the Chhattisgarh government challenging the bail granted to Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam cases.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vijay Bishnoi adjourned the matter after hearing brief submissions from both sides.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the Chhattisgarh government, argued that Chaitanya Baghel was one of the main accused and a key mastermind behind the alleged liquor scam.
On the other hand, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Chaitanya Baghel, defended the High Court’s decision and said that the judgment granting bail was well reasoned, especially considering that the investigation has been continuing for nearly two years.
Earlier, on January 2, the Chhattisgarh High Court granted bail to Chaitanya Baghel in two cases related to the alleged liquor scam in the state.
A single-judge Bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Verma allowed his bail pleas in one case registered by the Enforcement Directorate and another filed by the Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau / Economic Offences Wing.
While granting bail in the ED case, the High Court observed that Chaitanya Baghel’s alleged role was “significantly lesser” compared to that of several senior accused who had already been granted bail.
The court noted that the alleged kingpins and principal beneficiaries — Anwar Dhebar, Anil Tuteja, Arvind Singh, Arunpati Tripathi and Trilok Singh Dhillon — had already been released on bail by the Supreme Court. It held that denying bail to Chaitanya Baghel in such circumstances would violate the well-established principle of parity.
The High Court further pointed out that the investigation was largely based on documents and that Chaitanya Baghel had already spent a considerable amount of time in custody.
It clarified that the evidentiary value of the material collected by the ED, including statements recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as well as financial and digital records, would be examined during the trial and not finally assessed at the bail stage.
In a separate order granting bail in the ACB/EOW case, the High Court termed it a “grave violation of law” that the investigating officer failed to arrest Lakshmi Narayan Bansal, an accused in the case, despite a permanent and open-ended warrant issued by the Special Court.
Chaitanya Baghel was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on July 18 last year in connection with the money laundering probe linked to the alleged liquor scam. Later, on September 24, the ACB/EOW also arrested him in its corruption case while he was already lodged in jail.
According to the ED, the alleged liquor “scam” took place between 2019 and 2022, a period when Chhattisgarh was governed by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.
The agency has claimed that the scam caused a “massive loss” to the state exchequer and benefited members of a liquor syndicate.
The ED has further alleged that Chaitanya Baghel was at the helm of the syndicate involved in the liquor scam and personally handled nearly Rs 1,000 crore generated from the illegal activities.
The ACB/EOW has also claimed that Chaitanya Baghel, along with others, managed the proceeds of crime at a higher level and received around Rs 200–250 crore as his share. According to the state agency, the total proceeds of crime linked to the alleged scam could exceed Rs 3,500 crore.
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