The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Anwar Dhebar, brother of former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged ₹2,161 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam [Anwar Dhebar vs. Directorate of Enforcement]..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the maximum punishment for the alleged offence is seven years, and that the trial against Anwar Dhebar was unlikely to start any time soon. "7 years is the maximum punishment. Senthil Balaji will apply. Will the trial be over within 7 years? It’s next to impossible," the Court remarked..Referring to its recent decision in Senthil Balaji's case, the Court noted that keeping an accused indefinitely in jail before trial, and without any substantial progress in the trial, is unjustifiable. It added that the ongoing investigation, combined with the large number of witnesses cited in both the money laundering case (40 witnesses) and the predicate offence (450 witnesses), made a timely conclusion of the trial improbable..The case is tied to allegations that a ₹2,000 crore liquor syndicate racket operated in Chhattisgarh during the Chief Ministership of Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims that this syndicate collected illegal commissions and sold unaccounted liquor through government liquor shops. .Notably, on April 8, 2024, the Supreme Court quashed a previous money laundering case registered by the ED in the same matter, on finding that there was no predicate offence (an underlying criminal case based on which ED cases can be registered if it is suspected that money was laundered as part of such a crime).This judgment was passed on petitions filed by IAS officer Anil Tuteja, his son Yash Tuteja, Karishma Dhebar, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi and Siddharth Singhania - all of whom were accused in the ED case. A day later, the ED registered a fresh money laundering case, based on a predicate case registered by the Chhattisgarh police in January 2024. Anwar Dhebar was arrested in connection with this second case on August 8, 2024. .During yesterday's hearing, Dhebar’s counsel argued that he has remained in jail for nine months, without any charges being framed by the trial court.The Court observed that the trial in the money laundering case cannot progress without the completion of the trial in the predicate offence, which itself involved 450 witnesses. It was, therefore, highly unlikely that the money laundering trial would be completed any time soon, the Court noted. It rejected the ED’s argument that Dhebar should not be released on bail since he was the alleged 'kingpin' of the liquor syndicate and since he allegedly had substantial influence and political connections. Such assertions alone cannot justify a person's continued pre-trial detention without concrete progress in the case, the Court opined. .The Court proceeded to allow Dhebar's plea for bail, adding that he should be produced before the concerned trial court within a week for the bail process. The trial court can impose “appropriate stringent terms and conditions” for his release on bail, after hearing the prosecution, the Court said.Additionally, Dhebar was ordered to surrender his passport, if any, and to regularly attend court proceedings.Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana represented Dhebar before the Supreme Court. Last month, the Court had granted bail to co-accused and former IAS officer Anil Tuteja on similar grounds, and after noting that a trial court's cognisance order against him had also been quashed by the High Court..[Read Live Coverage]
The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Anwar Dhebar, brother of former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged ₹2,161 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam [Anwar Dhebar vs. Directorate of Enforcement]..A Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan observed that the maximum punishment for the alleged offence is seven years, and that the trial against Anwar Dhebar was unlikely to start any time soon. "7 years is the maximum punishment. Senthil Balaji will apply. Will the trial be over within 7 years? It’s next to impossible," the Court remarked..Referring to its recent decision in Senthil Balaji's case, the Court noted that keeping an accused indefinitely in jail before trial, and without any substantial progress in the trial, is unjustifiable. It added that the ongoing investigation, combined with the large number of witnesses cited in both the money laundering case (40 witnesses) and the predicate offence (450 witnesses), made a timely conclusion of the trial improbable..The case is tied to allegations that a ₹2,000 crore liquor syndicate racket operated in Chhattisgarh during the Chief Ministership of Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims that this syndicate collected illegal commissions and sold unaccounted liquor through government liquor shops. .Notably, on April 8, 2024, the Supreme Court quashed a previous money laundering case registered by the ED in the same matter, on finding that there was no predicate offence (an underlying criminal case based on which ED cases can be registered if it is suspected that money was laundered as part of such a crime).This judgment was passed on petitions filed by IAS officer Anil Tuteja, his son Yash Tuteja, Karishma Dhebar, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi and Siddharth Singhania - all of whom were accused in the ED case. A day later, the ED registered a fresh money laundering case, based on a predicate case registered by the Chhattisgarh police in January 2024. Anwar Dhebar was arrested in connection with this second case on August 8, 2024. .During yesterday's hearing, Dhebar’s counsel argued that he has remained in jail for nine months, without any charges being framed by the trial court.The Court observed that the trial in the money laundering case cannot progress without the completion of the trial in the predicate offence, which itself involved 450 witnesses. It was, therefore, highly unlikely that the money laundering trial would be completed any time soon, the Court noted. It rejected the ED’s argument that Dhebar should not be released on bail since he was the alleged 'kingpin' of the liquor syndicate and since he allegedly had substantial influence and political connections. Such assertions alone cannot justify a person's continued pre-trial detention without concrete progress in the case, the Court opined. .The Court proceeded to allow Dhebar's plea for bail, adding that he should be produced before the concerned trial court within a week for the bail process. The trial court can impose “appropriate stringent terms and conditions” for his release on bail, after hearing the prosecution, the Court said.Additionally, Dhebar was ordered to surrender his passport, if any, and to regularly attend court proceedings.Advocate Arshdeep Singh Khurana represented Dhebar before the Supreme Court. Last month, the Court had granted bail to co-accused and former IAS officer Anil Tuteja on similar grounds, and after noting that a trial court's cognisance order against him had also been quashed by the High Court..[Read Live Coverage]
