Ex-IAS officer gets bail in Chhattisgarh liquor scam

Noting that there were 20 accused and over 30 witnesses left to be examined, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to former IAS officer Anil Tuteja in the Rs 2,000-crore liquor scam case in Chhattisgarh.

Tuteja was arrested on April 21, 2024, on a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under Section 44 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

A Bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka granted bail to Tuteja after Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Tuteja, pointed out that an order passed by the Chhattisgarh High Court, in which the order of cognisance passed by a special court was set aside on the ground that sanction under Section 197 of the CrPC was not granted before order for taking cognisance.

Section 197 provides a shield to public servants and judges against prosecution for alleged offences committed while acting in their official capacity and mandates prior sanction from the appropriate government before a court can take cognisance of such offences.

“The order dated April 2 has not been challenged. As of today, there is no order taking cognisance. The appellant has undergone incarceration of about a year. There are more than 20 accused and more than 30 prosecution witnesses have been cited,” the top court said.

The court directed the ED to produce Tuteja before the relevant court for bail formalities, observing the court of the special judge was vacant.

Tuteja would be released on bail subject to strict terms and conditions, including surrender of passport and cooperating with the court for hearings, it added.

On behalf of the ED, Additional solicitor general SV Raju opposed the bail saying Tuteja was a senior bureaucrat indulged in rampant corruption and running a “well-oiled machinery” of parallel sales of liquor.

India