The Supreme Court on Thursday deferred the hearing on the Chhattisgarh government’s appeal challenging the grant of bail to Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with two alleged liquor scam cases.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vijay Bishnoi, adjourned the matter after hearing preliminary submissions by senior advocates Mahesh Jethmalani for the state and Mukul Rohatgi for Chaitanya Baghel.
Jethmalani argued that Chaitanya was a key accused and alleged mastermind in what he termed a “sensational” scam involving massive financial irregularities. Rohatgi, on the other hand, defended the High Court’s decision, calling it a well-reasoned order passed after two years of ongoing investigation.
On January 2, the Chhattisgarh High Court granted bail to Chaitanya Baghel in two separate cases — one registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and the other by the Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
In the ED case, the single-judge bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Verma observed that Chaitanya’s alleged role appeared to be “significantly lesser” than that of several senior accused who had already been granted bail. These included Anwar Dhebar, Anil Tuteja, Arvind Singh, Arunpati Tripathi, and Trilok Singh Dhillon — all of whom were released on bail by the Supreme Court.
The High Court underlined that denying bail to Chaitanya in such circumstances would violate the principle of parity. It also noted that the investigation was largely documentary in nature, and the evidentiary value of the material collected, including statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, would be examined during trial, not at the bail stage.
In the ACB/EOW case, the High Court highlighted procedural lapses, terming it a “grave violation of law” that a co-accused, Lakshmi Narayan Bansal, was not arrested despite an open-ended warrant issued by the Special Court.
Allegations Against Chaitanya Baghel
The ED arrested Chaitanya on July 18, 2025, as part of its probe into the alleged liquor scam, and the ACB/EOW later arrested him on September 24 while he was still in judicial custody.
According to the ED, the alleged scam was operational between 2019 and 2022, during the Congress government’s rule in Chhattisgarh. The agency claimed the scam caused massive losses to the state exchequer while enriching a liquor syndicate that included powerful political and bureaucratic figures.
The ED alleged that Chaitanya Baghel played a central role in managing the syndicate’s affairs and personally handled nearly ₹1,000 crore in illicit funds. The ACB/EOW echoed similar claims, stating that he received ₹200–250 crore as his share. The total proceeds of crime in the alleged scam may exceed ₹3,500 crore, the state agency said.
The matter will now be listed for hearing at a later date, with the Supreme Court yet to decide on the merits of the state’s appeal against the bail orders.
