In a key development in the alleged Chhattisgarh coal levy scam, the Supreme Court has granted interim bail to six accused individuals, including two suspended IAS officers and a former deputy secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO). All six were released from Central Jail Raipur on Saturday following the apex court’s order.
Among those released are Mr. Sameer Vishnoi and Ms. Ranu Sahu, both suspended IAS officers, as well as Ms. Saumya Chaurasia, who served as deputy secretary in the CMO during the previous Congress-led government under Mr. Bhupesh Baghel. Defense counsel Mr. Faizal Rizvi confirmed their release, along with three other individuals granted similar relief.
While the Supreme Court had extended interim bail to eight accused in total, two of them—businessman Mr. Suryakant Tiwari and Mr. Nikhil Chandrakar—continue to remain in custody due to their involvement in other pending cases.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been probing the money laundering aspects of the case since 2022, had arrested Mr. Vishnoi in October 2022, Ms. Chaurasia in December 2022, and Ms. Sahu in July 2023. The interim bail has been granted in connection with two separate cases—one registered by the ED and another by the Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
The relief also covers a case currently under investigation by the state’s Economic Offences Wing (EoW) regarding alleged irregularities in the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), in which both Ms. Sahu and Ms. Chaurasia have been named as accused.
