Bilaspur, February 28 The Chhattisgarh High Court on Saturday granted bail to Saumya Chaurasia, a former deputy secretary in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) in the previous Congress government, in two cases registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the state Economic Offences Wing (EOW) related to the alleged liquor scam.
While the EOW is investigating the criminal aspect of the liquor scam after registering an FIR on January 17, 2024, the ED is looking into the money laundering aspect after registering an ECIR on April 11 of the same year.
After hearing both the bail applications, Justice Arvind Kumar Verma had reserved the order on February 24.
According to the ED, the alleged liquor scam took place in Chhattisgarh between 2019 and 2023 during the Congress government of Bhupesh Baghel. The case involves allegations that a criminal syndicate, in connivance with the state's political and administrative hierarchy, smuggled alcohol to government liquor shops and extorted illegal commissions from sales. The ED claims that this cost the state exchequer Rs 2,883 crore.
The EOW's counsel, Additional Advocate General Praveen Das, objected to the bail application, claiming that Chaurasia, as a deputy secretary in the CMO, "exercised exceptional influence and authority, using it to orchestrate and facilitate the nefarious operations of the syndicate implicated in this massive liquor scam."
He told the court that the investigation had unequivocally uncovered her active and conscious participation in the criminal conspiracy, placing her at the center of the syndicate's operations. Das added that incriminating digital evidence had also been unearthed.
However, Chaurasia's lawyer, Siddhartha Dave, presented 20 arguments, including that her arrest was unnecessary, that there was no incriminating material, and that she was not named in the FIR or chargesheets.
The order granting Chaurasia bail in the EOW case stated that "these circumstances clearly indicate that the trial is unlikely to commence and conclude in the near future and is bound to consume considerable time before reaching its logical conclusion."
The order also said that the continued detention of the applicant pending completion of the investigation would not serve the ends of justice.
While objecting to the bail plea in the ED case, the central probe agency claimed that Chaurasia received approximately Rs 43.50 crore from the proceeds of the liquor scam, adding that she handled, assisted, acquired, and possessed proceeds of crime to the extent of approximately Rs 115.5 crore.
However, her counsel Siddhartha Dave presented 26 arguments seeking bail in the ED case, including that she is a woman, that the investigation is complete, and that no proceeds of crime were recovered.
Dave also told the court that the entire ED case was based on the statements of co-accused, that arrests were selective, and that they took place after years of investigation. He argued that a prolonged trial justifies bail.
ED counsel Zohaib Hossain said that Chaurasia played a key and supervisory role in money laundering.
He said that WhatsApp chats are valid evidence and that there is no need to recover any money from the accused.
Hossain also said that the gravity of the offense was extremely high, adding that a delay in the trial is not a ground for bail. He argued that her arrest after two years is justified.
After listening to both parties, Judge Verma granted bail, stating that the investigation was substantially completed.
The order said that the case against the applicant is largely based on statements and inferential allegations, the evidentiary value of which will be examined during the trial.
It cited Supreme Court orders to state that the applicant is entitled to benefit of parity, as the alleged principal conspirators have already been enlarged on bail.
The Supreme Court, in its order of February 9 this year, has also directed consideration of the applicant's case on the touchstone of parity, the order said.
The Supreme Court has already granted bail to the applicant in the coal scam as well as in the DMF scam, and therefore, continued detention in the present matter would be inconsistent with the settled principle of parity, the order said.
The court also noted a "troubling pattern" against Chaurasia, stating that she "faces six arrests across multiple cases by diverse agencies (ED/CBI), entailing considerable aggregate incarcerations."
She was first arrested in the alleged coal levy scam in 2022.