Chhattisgarh High Court grants bail to ex-CM's son Chaitanya Baghel in liquor scam

The Chhattisgarh High Court on Friday granted bail to former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s son Chaitanya Baghel in both Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Economic Offences Wing (EoW) cases linked to the liquor scam in the State. .The orders were passed by Justice Arvind Kumar Verma. .The High Court allowed Baghel’s bail pleas in the money laundering case arising from the liquor scam as well as in the predicate offence registered by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing (EoW) and Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)..Both matters arise out of allegations of a large-scale liquor racket said to have operated in Chhattisgarh between 2019 and 2023 and involving alleged illegal commissions and diversion of excise revenue.The prosecuting agencies have alleged that a syndicate of politicians, excise officials and private distillery operators rigged the State’s liquor trade to cause a loss of over ₹3,000 crore to the State exchequer..ED has claimed that Baghel received and laundered part of the alleged proceeds of crime through his real estate project ‘Vithal Green’ run by M/s Baghel Developers, with attached properties said to be linked to these funds.Relying on statements of co-accused, ED argued that cash generated from the liquor scam was routed through Bansal and ultimately assimilated into Baghel’s project to give the impression that it was untainted.ED contended that Baghel was in receipt of at least ₹16.70 crore as proceeds of crime and played an important role in handling more than ₹1,000 crore linked to the liquor scam.The EoW has alleged that Baghel personally derived benefits of over ₹200 crore from the alleged racket..Baghel’s counsel argued that his prosecution was politically motivated and that ED and EoW have relied on stereotyped or template grounds of arrest and non‑cooperation.Earlier, the High Court had rejected an anticipatory bail plea filed by Baghel in the EoW case and had also upheld the validity of his arrest by the ED. This had prompted him to move the Supreme Court, where his challenge to the arrest and certain PMLA provisions remains pending..Baghel was represented by senior advocate N Hariharan and advocates Mayank Jain, Harshwardhan Parghaniha, Madhur Jain and Arpit Goel..[Read orders].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.