The Chhattisgarh High Court has granted bail to Saumya Chaurasia, former deputy secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office during the previous Congress government, in two cases linked to the alleged liquor scam being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the State Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
Justice Arvind Kumar Verma delivered the order after reserving judgment on February 24, allowing Chaurasia’s bail pleas in both matters on Saturday.
The alleged scam is said to have occurred between 2019 and 2023. According to the ED, a criminal syndicate, in connivance with elements of the political and administrative establishment, supplied bootleg liquor to government shops and extracted illegal commissions. The agency has claimed the operation caused a loss of ₹2,883 crore to the state exchequer.
The EOW registered an FIR on January 17, 2024 to probe the criminal aspect, while the ED initiated a money-laundering investigation through an ECIR dated April 11, 2024.
Opposing bail in the EOW case, Additional Advocate General Praveen Das argued that Chaurasia held “exceptional influence and authority” in the CMO and used her position to facilitate the syndicate’s activities. He told the court that the investigation had revealed her “active and conscious participation” and placed her at the “nerve centre” of the alleged conspiracy, supported by digital evidence.
In the ED proceedings, the central agency alleged that Chaurasia received about ₹43.50 crore from the proceeds of crime and was involved in handling or possessing around ₹115.5 crore linked to the scam. ED counsel Zohaib Hossain contended that WhatsApp chats constituted valid evidence, that recovery of proceeds was not necessary for prosecution, and that the gravity of the offence weighed against bail.
Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Chaurasia, advanced multiple grounds for bail, including that she was not named in the FIR or charge sheets, that no incriminating material had been recovered from her, and that her arrest was unnecessary. He also argued that the ED case relied largely on statements of co-accused, that arrests were selective and delayed, and that the anticipated prolonged trial justified release.
The defence further pointed out that the investigation was complete and that Chaurasia, being a woman, was entitled to consideration for bail.
In the EOW case, the High Court observed that the trial was unlikely to begin or conclude in the near future and would take considerable time. Continued incarceration pending investigation, it held, would not serve the ends of justice.
While granting bail in the ED case, the court noted that the investigation was “substantially completed” and that the prosecution’s case was largely based on statements and inferential allegations, the evidentiary value of which would be tested during trial.
The court also invoked the principle of parity, observing that the alleged principal conspirators had already been granted bail. It referred to a Supreme Court order dated February 9 directing that Chaurasia’s case be considered on the same footing.
Additionally, the High Court recorded that the Supreme Court had previously granted Chaurasia bail in the coal levy scam and the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) scam, and held that her continued detention in the present matter would be inconsistent with the settled principle of parity.
The court flagged what it described as a “troubling pattern,” noting that Chaurasia had faced six arrests across different cases by agencies including the ED and CBI, leading to “considerable aggregate incarcerations.” She was first arrested in 2022 in connection with the alleged coal levy scam.
With bail now granted in both the ED and EOW liquor scam cases, the proceedings against Chaurasia will continue at the trial stage, where the evidentiary value of the material relied upon by the prosecution will be assessed.
