The Supreme Court on Thursday (January 15, 2026) adjourned the hearing on the appeal of the Chhattisgarh government, in which the bail granted to Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, in the alleged liquor scam cases was challenged.
The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vijay Bishnoi adjourned the hearing after considering the arguments of senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for the state government, and Mukul Rohatgi, representing Baghel.
Jethmalani alleged that Baghel was one of the key accused and conspirators in this sensational case. Mukul Rohatgi argued that the investigation of this case was going on for two years and the High Court has given its decision after considering the matter.
Chhattisgarh High Court had granted bail to Chaitanya Baghel on January 2 in two cases related to the alleged liquor scam in the state. A single bench of Justice Arvind Kumar Verma accepted Chaitanya’s bail pleas in a case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and another case registered by the Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)/Economic Offenses Wing (EOW).
In its order on the bail plea in the ED case, the High Court said that the alleged role of the petitioner was much less than that of several key accused who have already been granted bail. It said that the alleged kingpin and key beneficiaries Anwar Dhebar, Anil Tuteja, Arvind Singh, Arunpati Tripathi and Trilok Singh Dhillon have already been released on bail by the Supreme Court and denying bail to the applicant would violate the well-established principle of equality.
The High Court found that the investigation was mainly of documentary nature and Chaitanya had been in custody for a long time. The court said that the veracity and authenticity of the material collected by the Enforcement Directorate, such as statements recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and financial and digital records, will be examined during the hearing of the case. The court also said that a final and conclusive assessment of this evidence cannot be made at the bail stage.
In a separate order granting bail in the ACB/EOW case, the High Court termed it a serious violation of law and said the investigating officer failed to arrest Laxmi Narayan Bansal (an accused in the case) despite a permanent/indefinite warrant issued by the special court.
ED had arrested Chaitanya Baghel on July 18 last year in connection with the money laundering probe in the alleged scam, while the ACB/EOW had arrested him while he was in jail on September 24 in its corruption investigation case. According to the ED, the liquor scam in the state took place between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was in power under the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.
Also read:-
Big blow to Mamata government from Supreme Court, stay on FIR against ED officers
