No Bail For Bhupesh Baghel's Deputy Secretary In Coal Levy Scam Case

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the bail application of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia, an accused in an alleged coal levy scam money laundering case.

The top court said Saumya Chaurasia was prima facie involved in money laundering.

It said courts should not be oblivious to the fact that nowadays educated and well-placed women in society engage themselves in commercial ventures and enterprises and, advertently or inadvertently, get involved in illegal activities.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh on her for misrepresenting facts and making incorrect statements.

The top court said the Enforcement Directorate has collected sufficient evidence to prima facie come to the conclusion that the appellant, who was a Deputy Secretary and official on special duty (OSD) in the office of the chief minister, was actively involved in the offence of Money Laundering as defined in Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

"As against that, there is nothing on record to satisfy the conscience of the Court that the appellant is not guilty of the said offence and the special benefit as contemplated in the proviso to Section 45 should be granted to the appellant who is a lady," the bench said, adding "In that view of the matter the Court does not find any merit in the instant appeal.

"Since the Court has found that there was an attempt made by and on behalf of the Appellant to misrepresent the facts by making incorrect statements in the appeal for assailing the impugned order passed by the High Court, the appeal deserves to be dismissed and is accordingly dismissed with cost of Rs.1 Lakh, which shall be deposited by the Appellant before the Supreme Court Legal Services Authority within two weeks from today," the bench said.

The top court was hearing an appeal filed by Saumya Chaurasia against an order of the Chhattisgarh High Court rejecting her bail plea.

The federal probe agency had last year alleged that a "grand conspiracy" was hatched in the natural resources-rich state to perpetrate a 'coal levy scam' in which Rs 540 crore was "extorted" over the last two years.

The money laundering case stems from an Income Tax department complaint.

The ED investigation relates to "a massive scam in which 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 agency had said.

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