SC grants interim bail to Chhattisgarh businessman in money laundering case

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vishwanathan granted six weeks to the ED to find out the status of the investigation and place on record the additional affidavit along with the relevant material.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted interim bail to a Chhattisgarh-based businessman, who was arrested in connection with a money laundering case involving illegal levy on coal transportation, noting that he has already undergone incarceration for one year and seven months.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Vishwanathan granted six weeks to the Enforcement Directorate to find out the status of the investigation and place on record the additional affidavit along with the relevant material.

The apex court noted that as on date there is no predicate offence (underlying criminal activity that leads to illegal gains,) under Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code or any other provision of the IPC against the petitioner.

"The petitioner has already undergone incarceration for about one year and seven months. The petitioner is not named as accused in FIR or the charge sheet ..."

"Consequently, but without expressing any final opinion with regards the prayer, we find that the petitioner has made out a prima facie strong case for his enlargement on interim bail," the bench said.

The petitioner is directed to be released on interim bail subject to his furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Special Court, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, the bench said.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by Sunil Kumar Agrawal challenging the Chhattisgarh High Court order, which rejected his bail on April 8.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Vikas Pahwa appeared for Agrawal in the case. The ED investigation relates to an alleged scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen.

The ED, in its second supplementary charge sheet, alleged that IAS officer Ranu Sahu, who served as the collector of Korba district during the period of the scam, facilitated the collection of illegal levy amounts from the coal transporters and District Mineral Fund (DMF) contracts by Suryakant Tiwari and his associates, and received huge bribes from them.

The money laundering case stems from an Income Tax department complaint that was registered following raids made by the department in June 2022.