Chhattisgarh Liquor Case: SC To Hear Petitions Related To Money Laundering Case On May 30

The Supreme Court on Monday stated that it will hear various petitions challenging the alleged money laundering case related to the liquor irregularities in Chhattisgarh on May 30.

A bench of justices Bela M Trivedi & Prashant Kumar Mishra adjourned the matter for tomorrow.

Chattisgarh’s Excise official Niranjan Das and various others including Karishma Dhebar, Anwar Dhebar, and Pinki Singh have approached the Supreme Court.

Pinki Singh was represented by senior Advocate Siddharth Dave and assisted by advocate Aakashi Lodhi challenged certain provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The petitioner has also sought quashing of the Enforcement Case Information Report in the Chhattisgarh liquor irregularities matter.

Notably, ED is investigating the alleged liquor scam that took place between 2019- 2022.

ED stated that, “ED investigation has revealed that Arun Pati Tripathi through his direct actions at the insistence of Anwar Dhebar, corrupted the entire liquor system of Chhattisgarh to maximize corruption in the department. He made policy changes in conspiracy with his other colleagues and gave tenders to associates of Anwar Dhebar so that maximum benefits could be taken.”

ED has alleged that despite being a senior ITS Officer and MD of CSMCL, he went against the ethics of the functioning of any State Excise Department and used the State-run shops to sell unaccounted kacha liquor.

Further, the agency alleged that “Arun Trpathi’s complicit actions resulted in massive losses to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the Liquor Syndicate with more than Rs 2000 Crore in illegal proceeds of crime. He also received a substantial share in this loot”.

Thus, the official statement read that the CSMCL’s objective was to hype the State’s revenue and provide quality controlled liquor to citizens that were violated by him for his personal illegal gains.

Therefore, ED conducted subsequent search operations at locations in Raipur, Bhilai, and Mumbai. The searches have resulted in the discovery of 53 acres of land in Naya Raipur that have a book value of Rs. 21.60 crore acquired by Anwar Dhebar by using the crime proceeds in the name of a JV.

The agency’s official statement mentioned that, during recent search proceedings, cash worth Rs 20 lacs and multiple incriminating documents got seized.