The Supreme Court slammed the ED for making unsubstantiated claims in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case. Judges questioned the lack of evidence behind Rs 40 crore allegations against the accused.
New Delhi: On Monday, the Supreme Court strongly criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for making serious accusations without any proper evidence while hearing a bail application filed by Arvind Singh, one of the accused in the alleged ₹2,000-crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.
A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan was listening to the case when it made sharp comments against the central probe agency.
The court said,
“This is a pattern adopted by the ED in a number of cases. You just make allegations without any evidence. The prosecution won’t stand before the court in this manner.”
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S. V. Raju, who was representing the ED, told the court that Arvind Singh had earned ₹40 crore along with another person named Vikas Agarwal.
However, when the bench asked if Vikas Agarwal had been made an accused in the case, the ASG replied that he was currently absconding.
The court expressed dissatisfaction over the ED’s inability to show any proper link between Arvind Singh and any company related to the alleged earnings.
The bench said,
“You have made a specific allegation that he earned ₹40 crore. Now you are not able to show the connection of this man with this or any other company. You should state whether he is the director of those companies, whether is a majority shareholder, whether he is Managing Director. Something has to be there.”
In response, ASG Raju argued that a person may control a company without holding a formal position. But the judges were not satisfied and dismissed the claims as baseless, calling them “bald allegations.”
This case has now been posted for further hearing on May 9.
The Supreme Court had earlier made similar critical remarks on April 28 while questioning the Chhattisgarh government regarding the prolonged custody of the accused.
The bench had pointed out that even though three chargesheets had already been filed, the trial had not started yet and charges were still not framed.
It said,
“Investigation will go on at its own speed. It will go on till eternity. Three chargesheets have been filed. You are virtually penalising the person by keeping him in custody. You have made the process a punishment. This is not some case of terrorist or triple murder.”
Appearing on behalf of Arvind Singh, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal submitted that despite the filing of three chargesheets, there has been no progress in framing of charges and the trial process has not yet begun.
The state government had opposed the bail requests, arguing that the accused still need to be confronted with other accused persons.
Accepting this point, the court has allowed Arvind Singh and co-accused Amit Singh to be confronted with former Chhattisgarh Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma as part of the ongoing process.
According to the ED, the alleged liquor scam was carried out between 2019 and 2022 and involved a network of senior state officials, private individuals, and political leaders. The ED claims that over ₹2,000 crore in illegal money was made through this scam.
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As per the agency, bribes were collected from liquor manufacturers on a per-case basis through the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), and a large amount of country-made liquor was sold without any records.
The ED’s probe is based on a chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department in a Delhi court in 2022. The agency has further alleged that the bribes helped form a liquor cartel, giving selected distillers fixed market shares and unfair business advantages.
The Supreme Court’s strong words have once again brought attention to how the ED conducts its investigations, especially in politically sensitive cases.
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