The Supreme Court on Monday came down heavily on the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for making serious allegations “without any evidence” while hearing a bail plea filed by an accused in the alleged ₹2,000-crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing the bail petition of Arvind Singh, one of the accused in the case. Criticizing the ED’s conduct, the bench remarked, “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 S.V. Raju, representing the ED, claimed that Arvind Singh earned ₹40 crore in collusion with another person named Vikas Agarwal. However, when asked if Agarwal had been made an accused, Raju informed the court that he was absconding.
The bench expressed dissatisfaction with the ED’s failure to provide any substantive link between Singh and any company related to the alleged earnings. “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, a majority shareholder, or the Managing Director. Something has to be there,” the court said.
In response, Raju contended that an individual could control a company without being formally responsible for its operations, but the bench remained unconvinced, branding the claims as “bald allegations.”
The matter has now been posted for further hearing on May 9.
In an earlier hearing on April 28, the top court had also pulled up the Chhattisgarh government, questioning the prolonged incarceration of the accused. “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,” the court had said.
Appearing for Arvind Singh, senior advocate Siddharth Agarwal argued that despite three chargesheets being filed, charges had not yet been framed, and the trial process remained stalled.
The court has allowed Arvind Singh and co-accused Amit Singh to be confronted with former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma as part of the ongoing proceedings.
The ED has alleged that the liquor scam involved a high-level nexus of state officials, private actors, and political figures who generated over ₹2,000 crore in illegal proceeds between 2019 and 2022. The agency claims that bribes were collected from distillers in exchange for allowing a cartelized market, and large volumes of country liquor were sold off-the-books.
The money laundering probe stems from a 2022 chargesheet filed by the Income Tax Department in a Delhi court.
The Supreme Court’s sharp observations have once again highlighted concerns over the ED’s investigative practices, particularly in politically sensitive cases.
