The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court in Raipur has extended the judicial custody of Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, for another 14 days.
He is currently under investigation in connection with the alleged ₹2,161-crore liquor scam.
Chaitanya was first arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 18, 2025. The agency is probing the matter under the provisions of the PMLA. His initial 14-day judicial remand, granted following his arrest, concluded on Monday.
Speaking to reporters outside the court, Advocate Faizal Rizvi, counsel for Chaitanya, said, “The previous 14-day judicial remand has been completed and a fresh application for another 14-day judicial remand has been filed. The court has given 18/8 (August 18) as the date for the next remand.”
Relief For Bhupesh & Chaitanya Baghel
In a separate development, the Supreme Court on the same day allowed Bhupesh Baghel and his son to approach the High Court to challenge ongoing investigations into a series of alleged financial scams, including the liquor case.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi heard the matter. The court permitted Chaitanya to move the High Court with a plea for interim bail.
Bhupesh Baghel has approached the apex court seeking protection from coercive actions, such as arrest, in a slew of cases linked to various alleged scams. These include the Mahadev App scam, rice milling scam, District Mineral Foundation (DMF) scam, coal levy scam, and even a liquor scam being probed in Uttar Pradesh.
Baghel’s Allegation
In his plea, Bhupesh Baghel highlighted that he has been facing several criminal cases filed between 2015 and 2025, many of which were registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Raipur.
These cases reportedly involve allegations of irregularities in government procurement processes, rice milling, DMF allocations, and coal levies.
The Congress leader has accused central investigative agencies — the ED and CBI — of filing “piecemeal and incomplete chargesheets” without concluding their investigations. He alleged that this approach is being used deliberately to deny him the benefit of default bail under Section 187(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (earlier Section 167(2) of the CrPC).
The coming weeks are likely to see further legal wrangling as both father and son seek relief through the High Court even as the ED continues its probe into one of Chhattisgarh’s most high-profile corruption cases.
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