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 lodged 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 money laundering charges.
Mr. Lakhma was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the State police on April 2, 2025. The court further considered the submission that the investigation was still going on and there were to be several hundred witnesses. The trial was yet to commence.
One of the conditions on the former Minister the court laid down for bail was that Mr. Lakhma would have to live outside the State and must appear in courts on the trial dates.
The Bench asked Mr. Lakhma to submit his passport in the trial court and asked him not to attempt to influence witnesses of the cases. Besides, he would have to share his mobile number and whereabouts to the probe agencies during the trial.
According to the ED, the liquor “scam” in Chhattisgarh was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 during the period of the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government. The alleged scam resulted in a “massive loss” to the State exchequer. The ED accused Chaitanya Baghel, the son of the former Chief Minister, to be at the helm of the alleged scam, and personally handling nearly ₹1,000 crore generated from the scandal.
Published – February 03, 2026 08:40 pm IST
