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Decide on Chhattisgarh ex-official’s role in liquor case by April 10: SC to state
Former excise official Arun Pati Tripathi was alleged to be one of the masterminds of the liquor case causing a loss to the state exchequer to the tune of over ₹2,000 crore
The Supreme Court on Friday told the Chhattisgarh government that investigation into the liquor case cannot “continue endlessly” and ordered completion of probe into state’s former excise official Arun Pati Tripathi by April 10, when he is to be produced before a trial court to be considered for release on bail.
“More than sufficient time has been granted to you for completing the investigation. This cannot continue endlessly. Some day your investigation should end,” a bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan.
Tripathi was alleged to be one of the masterminds of the liquor case causing a loss to the state exchequer to the tune of over ₹2,000 crore. He was arrested on April 12 last year.
Representing the state, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani argued that Tripathi’s role is serious, and some of the accused, who are absconding, need to be confronted in his presence. Tripathi served as the chairman of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited and as the special secretary in the state excise department. He is accused of facilitating businessmen with political ties to run a cartel within the excise department, taking commissions from liquor retailers.
The bench then said, “There is something known as Article 21 of the Constitution. This is a case for grant of bail as there are 300 witnesses, investigation is not complete despite three charge sheets filed. The trial will not complete in another 10 years. It cannot be that he continues in custody indefinitely.”
Jethmalani sought a further time of six weeks to complete the probe. He said, “We could not complete the investigation as the other accused are either on bail or are absconding. Earlier, we thought that the entire scam was worth over ₹2000 crore, but it could go to ₹5000 crore.”
The bench said, “To ensure investigation is not affected, we direct the appellant shall be enlarged on bail on April 10 subject to appropriate terms and conditions fixed by the trial court. It was not willing .to cancel the bail of the other accused, terming such a submission “too far-fetched”.
Besides Tripathi, the court ordered the immediate release of three other accused—Anurag Trivedi, Deepak Duari, and Dilip Pandey—while deferring the hearing on the bail pleas of two others, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja and businessman Anwar Dhebar, who are considered the masterminds of the case.
While leaving the decision on bail conditions to the trial court, the bench imposed specific conditions on Tripathi. He must deposit his passport with the investigating officer, appear before the officer daily, and cooperate with the investigation until the charge sheet is filed. The state was directed to ensure Tripathi’s appearance before the trial court on April 10 for his release.
Tripathi is accused of running a parallel excise ministry in the state alongside former bureaucrat Anil Tuteja and businessmen Anwar Dhebar, among others, who benefited from the excise policy. The state has alleged that Tripathi influenced changes to the excise policy and rigged the tendering process for holograms, leading to the sale of liquor bottles with fake holograms and causing a loss of state revenue. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating a separate money laundering case against Tripathi, though he was previously granted bail in that case.
