Raipur. The Supreme Court has granted bail to Saumya Chaurasia, who was the deputy secretary of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, with conditions. The court had reserved the decision after hearing the petition of Saumya Chaurasia. The decision on this has come today. Also read: The pain of Naxal victims – basic facilities have not reached Bastar in four decades, if you sleep at night, there is no hope of waking up alive in the morning, many people have lost hands and feet in Naxalite violence, many children have become orphans, read the full story…
In December 2022, ED arrested Saumya Chaurasia in the coal levy case under PMLA, after which she is imprisoned in Central Jail Raipur. After the formation of BJP in the state, EOW has also registered a crime of corruption against her. In this regard, Saumya Chaurasia will still remain in jail.
The hearing was held in the Supreme Court in a division bench of Justice Suryakant and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan. During this, senior advocate Siddharth Dave urged on behalf of Chaurasia that his client has spent almost one year and 9 months in custody, during this time he has not been released even once, nor has the trial started. At the same time, 3 co-accused in the case have been released on interim bail.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, presenting arguments on behalf of the ED in the case, said that Chaurasia, who was a civil servant (and thus a trustee of the public), stands on a different footing as compared to the three persons who have been granted interim bail. The case requires a detailed hearing. Along with this, the ASG requested for time to file a reply.