New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Saumya Chaurasia, deputy secretary of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is an accused in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged coal-levy scam.
A bench comprising justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan asked additional solicitor general S V Raju, representing the Enforcement Directorate, "How long can you keep her under custody? 5 years, 7 years?”
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Chaurasia, submitted before the bench that all the co-accused in the case have been granted bail.
The apex court said that she has already been incarcerated for more than a year and nine months, and told the ED’s counsel that charges are yet to be framed against her. The apex court pointed out that the trial has not begun in the matter. Raju opposed Chairasia's bail while Dave stressed that there is no certainty when the trial will begin in the matter.
“Without expressing any view on merits, we direct petitioner's release on interim bail subject to terms to satisfaction of trial court," said the bench.
During the hearing, the top court also questioned the central agency for its low conviction rate in Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) matters and expressed its discontent on keeping people incarcerated without even framing of charges.
The top court said the maximum sentence is seven years and without framing of charges, how long can a person stay behind bars. The bench told Raju, "What is the rate of conviction in PMLA cases? In Parliament they said only in 40 cases there has been conviction...".
In August, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha that a total of 5,297 cases were lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the ED between 2014 and 2024 while conviction was secured in 40 cases.
The apex court directed Chaurasia to appear before the trial court as and when required and that she should not influence the witnesses. Raju said Chaurasia is a very influential civic servant and releasing her on bail would jeopardise the trial.
The apex court made it clear to the Chhattisgarh government that she should not be reinstated in service till further orders.
The apex court passed the order on a plea filed by Chaurasia challenging an August 28 order of the high court which declined to entertain her bail plea.
The ED had alleged that in 2022, a "grand conspiracy" was hatched in the natural resources-rich state to perpetrate a "coal-levy scam", in which a total of Rs 540 crore was "extorted" over the last two years. The money-laundering case stems from a complaint lodged by the income-tax department.
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