Supreme Court refuses to interfere with bail to ex-IAS officer Anil Tuteja in corruption cases

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the regular bail granted to retired Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer Anil Tuteja in connection with the alleged liquor scam and the custom rice milling scam cases.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V Mohana has dismissed appeals filed in the matter by the Chhatisgarh government.

The Court added that the State government is free to seek a cancellation of Tuteja's bail if he is found to have misused his liberty.

"If there is any misuse of the concession of bail, you can approach the High Court for immediate cancellation of bail," CJI Kant said.

The Court also clarified that the High Court's observations in its orders were only for the purpose of deciding Tuteja's bail applications and will not bind the trial court.

"The findings made by the High Court are for the limited purpose of granting bail. The trial court shall not be influenced by those observations. As regards the impugned orders granting bail, such orders were passed in December or January. In case there is any instance of misuse of the concession of bail, it can be brought to the notice of the High Court for cancellation of bail," the Court said while rejecting the State's appeal against the grant of bail in the rice mill scam case.

During the hearing, the Court also cautioned that although there may be strong suspicions of corruption, suspicion alone cannot take the place of legal proof during trial.

"We agree with you (State). There is a strong suspicion that they (Tuteja and co-accused) are involved in corruption. But that suspicion has to be converted into foolproof evidence," the CJI said.

The State had approached the top court challenging the orders of the Chhattisgarh High Court which had enlarged Tuteja on bail in the liquor scam case and the custom rice milling scam case.

On January 13, 2026, the High Court granted him regular bail in the rice mill case. The case involves allegations that Tuteja conspired with office-bearers of the Chhattisgarh State Rice Millers Association and officials of MARKFED to extort money from rice millers during the 2021–22 custom-milling season. 

The prosecution alleges that the State incentive for custom milling was increased from ₹40 to ₹120 per quintal, after which millers were allegedly forced to pay ₹20 per quintal in illegal commissions to get their incentive bills cleared. Tuteja is alleged to have influenced the scheme and received around ₹20 crore in illegal gratification through intermediaries. 

The liquor scam involves allegations that Tuteja played a central role in an alleged corruption syndicate that operated in Chhattisgarh’s liquor trade between 2019 and 2022.

The High Court granted him bail in the said case in March this year, after noting that Tuteja had remained in jail for over 18 months and that the trial was unlikely to conclude soon.

The State's appeals in both matters were dismissed today, although it has been given liberty to seeking the cancellation of Tuteja's bail if he is found to have misused his liberty while on bail.

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