Congress MLA and former Chhattisgarh Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma. File | Photo credit: PTI
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 3, 2026) granted interim bail to Congress MLA and former Chhattisgarh Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma in two alleged liquor scam cases filed separately by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the state police.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant granted the interim relief after considering the fact that Mr. Lakhma had been in jail since his arrest by the ED on January 15 last year on charges of money laundering.
Mr. Lakhma was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the state police on 2 April 2025. The court further considered submissions that the investigation was still ongoing and there were expected to be several hundred witnesses. The trial was about to begin.
One of the former minister’s bail conditions was that Mr Lakhma would have to live outside the state and appear in court on the day of trial.
The bench asked Mr. Lakhma to produce his passport before the trial court and asked him not to try to influence the witnesses of the cases. In addition, he will have to disclose his mobile number and whereabouts to the investigating agencies during the process.
According to the ED, the liquor “scam” in Chhattisgarh was organized between 2019 and 2022 during the period of the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel. The alleged fraud resulted in a “massive loss” to the exchequer. The ED accused Chaitanya Baghel, son of the former chief minister, of being at the helm of the alleged scam and personally handling nearly ₹1,000 crore generated from the scandal.
Published – 03 Feb 2026 20:40 IST
