The Aryavarth Express
Agency(New Delhi): The Supreme Court, led by Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, has quashed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) case against former IAS officer Anil Tuteja and his son Yash concerning an alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh. The court found no evidence of proceeds of crime, which are essential for constituting an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
During the proceedings, the ED, represented by Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, hinted that the agency might file a new complaint based on additional evidence gathered during their investigation. However, the Supreme Court stated that it would not intervene in any future actions that the ED might initiate.
The case has seen various developments, including a temporary order in July 2023 by the Supreme Court directing the ED to pause all coercive actions against the Tutejas. This order came amid allegations from the then Congress-led state government that the ED was overreaching in its investigation, ostensibly attempting to implicate then-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and harass state officials.
The ED’s allegations centered around a syndicate that supposedly involved high-level government officials, private entities, and political figures, which purportedly siphoned off over Rs 2,000 crore through illicit liquor sales between 2019 and 2022. The agency claimed that bribes were systematically collected from distillers based on the volume of liquor procured from the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Ltd (CSMCL) and that illicit sales of country liquor were rampant.
This high-profile case has drawn attention to the operational tactics of the ED and raised questions about the agency’s handling of cases involving political figures and state officials. With the Supreme Court’s recent ruling, the focus now shifts to whether the ED will proceed with a new filing and how it will support its allegations with the additional material it claims to possess.
