The Supreme Court today strongly criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED) while hearing a bail request in a money laundering case. The case is linked to alleged corruption in liquor sales in Chhattisgarh between 2019 and 2022, during the Congress government led by Bhupesh Baghel.

The court was listening to the bail petition of one of the accused in this case. While hearing the matter, Justice AS Oka said, “We have seen several ED cases. It has become a pattern now; ED is levelling allegations without evidence.” He said this while pointing out that ED had claimed the accused earned Rs 40 crore through crime money but failed to show where the money came from.

“But you cannot say where this money came from; you cannot show any connection between this man and any company,” Justice Oka told the ED. He was sitting on the bench along with Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has said that there were financial scams worth more than ₹2,000 crore in Chhattisgarh. According to the agency, a group of senior government officials, private businessmen, and political leaders worked together in this scam.

The ED claimed that liquor companies paid bribes to get a fixed share in the market. It also said that a lot of country liquor was sold without keeping any records.

The money laundering case is based on an earlier investigation by the Income Tax department. Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has denied all the accusations. He believes that this is a political plot by the BJP to target him and his party.

Last week, the Supreme Court also asked the Chhattisgarh government why they were keeping an accused in jail for so long. The judges said, “The investigation will take its own time, and it could take forever. Three chargesheets have already been filed. You are punishing the person by keeping him in jail. This is not a case of terrorism or triple murder.”

You might also be interested in-  Khalistani hold anti-Hindu parade in Toronto with caged statues of PM Modi and Amit Shah