New Delhi, May 20 (UNI) The Supreme Court has granted bail to Anwar Dhebar, brother of former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Rs 2,161 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam. The apex court underscored that continued incarceration of an undertrial, in the absence of any substantial progress in the trial, is not legally sustainable.

A Bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Monday observed that the maximum punishment prescribed for the offence is seven years, and that there is no likelihood of the trial commencing in the near future.

“Seven years is the maximum punishment. Senthil Balaji will apply. Will the trial be over within seven years? It’s next to impossible,” the Bench remarked, while referencing the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Senthil Balaji's case.

The Court underscored that continued incarceration of an undertrial, in the absence of any substantial progress in the trial, is not legally sustainable. It further noted that the ongoing investigation and the voluminous list of witnesses 40 in the money laundering case and 450 in the predicate offence render timely trial completion improbable.

The case concerns allegations of a massive Rs 2,000 crore liquor syndicate that purportedly operated in Chhattisgarh during the tenure of former Chief Minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), illegal commissions were allegedly collected and unaccounted liquor was sold through government-run liquor outlets.

In a significant development earlier, on April 8, 2024, the Supreme Court had quashed an ED-registered money laundering case after finding that no predicate offence existed to support the ED’s action.

That judgment came in response to petitions filed by various accused, including IAS officer Anil Tuteja, his son Yash Tuteja, Karishma Dhebar, Anwar Dhebar, Arun Pati Tripathi, and Siddharth Singhania.

However, the ED registered a fresh money laundering case the very next day, based on a predicate offence lodged by the Chhattisgarh Police in January 2024.

Anwar Dhebar was arrested under this second case on August 8, 2024.

During Monday’s hearing, Dhebar’s counsel argued that he had already spent nine months in custody and that no charges had been framed so far.

The Court observed that proceedings in the money laundering case cannot meaningfully advance until the conclusion of the predicate offence trial, which itself involves 450 witnesses. In light of this, the Bench held that indefinite pre-trial detention was unjustified.

Rejecting the ED’s submission that Dhebar should be denied bail due to his alleged role as the “kingpin” of the syndicate and his purported political influence, the Court held that such claims, without tangible progress in the trial, could not justify continued incarceration.

The Court accordingly granted bail to Anwar Dhebar and directed that he be produced before the trial court within a week to complete the bail formalities. The trial court has been permitted to impose “appropriate stringent terms and conditions” after hearing the prosecution.

Additionally, the apex court directed Dhebar to surrender his passport, if any, and to regularly attend trial proceedings.

It may be recalled that last month, the Supreme Court had granted bail to co-accused and former IAS officer Anil Tuteja on similar grounds, particularly in view of the High Court's quashing of the cognisance order against him.

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