The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday granted interim bail to Kawasi Lakhma, a Congress MLA and former Excise Minister of Chhattisgarh, who has been in custody for over a year in connection with the state's liquor scam cases. However, the court ordered that Lakhma must stay out of Chhattisgarh during the bail period, except to attend court proceedings.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi granted the relief, taking into consideration Lakhma's prolonged incarceration and the unlikelihood of a swift conclusion to the trial. Lakhma was initially arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 15, 2025, on money laundering charges related to the alleged liquor scam that occurred during the previous Congress government's tenure. Subsequently, he was arrested again on April 2, 2025, by the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)/Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in a separate case.
The ED alleges that the scam, which transpired between 2019 and 2022, involved the illicit generation of thousands of crores of rupees through a liquor syndicate operating under political and bureaucratic patronage. The court noted that investigations against several other accused are still ongoing. It was also brought to the court's attention that the prosecution intends to examine a substantial number of witnesses—865 in the EOW case and 117 in the ED case. Another source mentions that the prosecution proposed to examine 1,193 witnesses. The court acknowledged the complexity of the matter and the extensive time the investigation is expected to take.
Emphasizing that "indefinite incarceration may infringe rights flowing from Article 21 of the Constitution," the court issued interim directions to balance the competing claims of the parties. In addition to the condition restricting Lakhma's entry into Chhattisgarh, the court stipulated that he must furnish bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Special Judge. He is also required to surrender his passport to the trial court and is barred from traveling abroad. The court also ordered Lakhma to disclose his place of stay and contact details to enable the jurisdictional police station and ED officials to ascertain his whereabouts. He is forbidden from changing his mobile number without the Special Judge's permission.
The court addressed the argument that Lakhma, as a sitting MLA, needs to attend assembly proceedings. The court clarified that the Speaker of the Assembly can make a decision regarding his participation after the chargesheet is filed or after the court has taken cognizance of it. The Supreme Court has allowed Lakhma to take part in public events but he shall not make any statement with respect to the allegations he face. The ED and ACB/EOW retain the right to seek cancellation of the bail should any violation occur.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Lakhma, contended that the investigation against his client was largely complete and relied heavily on the statements of domestic staff rather than concrete evidence. Rohatgi highlighted that 19 out of 52 individuals involved had already been granted bail, further arguing that a trial was unlikely to commence or conclude soon given the extensive number of witnesses and accused. Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani argued that Lakhma was receiving ₹2 crores of bribe money a month. Lakhma is accused of receiving ₹72 crores as kickbacks and using it for construction of buildings.