The Supreme Court has deferred a hearing regarding the Chhattisgarh government's appeal against the bail granted to Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with the alleged liquor scam cases.
Chaitanya Baghel was granted bail by the Chhattisgarh High Court amidst ongoing investigations into the alleged scam. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offences Wing (ACB/EOW) have alleged that the scam resulted in massive financial losses to the state.
The state government argues that Chaitanya Baghel was a mastermind behind the alleged liquor scam. The ED claims that he was at the helm of the syndicate involved and personally handled nearly ₹1,000 crore generated from the scandal. The ACB/EOW has alleged that Chaitanya Baghel, along with others, managed the proceeds of the crime at a higher level and received around ₹200-250 crore as his share. The state agency estimates that the total proceeds of crime linked to the scam could exceed ₹3,500 crore.
The alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh reportedly occurred between 2019 and 2022, during the tenure of the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel. Investigating agencies claim that the scam caused a significant loss to the state exchequer and benefited members of a liquor syndicate. The central allegation is that the state's excise policy was deliberately manipulated to enable the syndicate to sell "off-the-book" or unaccounted-for liquor through government-run shops using duplicate holograms and bottles, thereby generating illegal profits.
In a related case from May 2025, the Supreme Court had a sharp exchange between a bench headed by Justice Abhay S Oka and senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, who alleged that the Chhattisgarh government's plea against former IAS officer Anil Tuteja was being delayed due to adjournments. The bench, however, reminded him that the government itself had sought deferment of hearing on a few occasions. Anil Tuteja was granted bail on April 15 by a bench headed by Justice Oka in a money laundering case arising out of the Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The court noted that Tuteja had been in custody for over a year, charges had not been framed, and more than 30 prosecution witnesses were to be examined.
In another development from January 12, 2026, the Supreme Court expressed concern that transferring the trial in the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam case from Uttar Pradesh to Chhattisgarh could cause serious hardship to other accused persons involved. The court warned that such a move may create conflicting claims and cause "great hardship" to other accused persons. The bench was hearing a petition filed by Niranjan Das, a retired Chhattisgarh government officer who is also an accused in the liquor scam case.
