The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to the state’s former Excise Minister and current MLA Kawasi Lakhma in the liquor scam case of Chhattisgarh. On Tuesday (February 3, 2026), the court granted bail to Kawasi Lakhma in both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) cases.
According to IANS report, the Supreme Court has granted interim bail to Kawasi Lakhma with conditions. The court said that Kawasi will not stay in Chhattisgarh during interim bail. Lakhma will not enter Chhattisgarh until he has to appear in court. However, he can come to the state a day before the court hearing. Apart from this, he will not travel abroad and the passport will have to be deposited in the court of the Special Judge. Kawasi Lakhma will have to give his phone number to the ED officer and this number cannot be changed without informing the trial court.
It was said in the Supreme Court order that Kawasi Lakhma will have to appear in the court personally and he can be exempted from appearance only due to health reasons. The Supreme Court said that the investigation is likely to take a lot of time and a hasty trial can have a negative impact on the prosecution case, hence full freedom should be given to complete the investigation.
Kawasi Lakhma’s lawyer Mukul Rohatgi said that he is a tribal and has been MLA 6 times. He said that there is an allegation of taking bribe in this case, but no recovery has been made. Kawasi Lakhma is 67 years old, hence bail should be granted.
The bail of Kawasi Lakhma was opposed by the state government and ED. The state government said that the investigation into the matter is still going on and the collusion of ministers, political officials and senior officials has come to light. This scam has caused huge loss to the government treasury.
Lakhma was arrested by ED on 15 January 2025 and EOW on 2 April 2025. Several charge sheets have been filed in this case and the investigation has been completed. 1193 witnesses have been made in this case. There are a total of 52 accused, out of which 22 people were arrested. Already 19 people have got bail.
