Supreme court grants conditional bail in ₹570 crore chhattisgarh coal scam - the statesman

Chhattisgarh’s high-profile coal levy scam took a dramatic turn on Friday after the Supreme Court granted interim bail to six individuals, including suspended IAS officers Ranu Sahu and

Sameer Vishnoi, as well as former Deputy Secretary to the former Chief Minister, Saumya Chaurasia. All six were released from Raipur Central Jail nearly two years after their arrests, in

what the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleges to be a ₹570-crore extortion operation linked to coal transportation. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta imposed

stringent bail conditions, barring the accused from residing in Chhattisgarh to prevent any influence over witnesses. They have been directed to surrender their passports and notify the

local police of their new addresses outside the state. Advertisement The ED alleges that a network of bureaucrats, politicians, and businessmen orchestrated an illegal levy system by

converting online coal transport permits to an offline mode. This enabled the selective issuance of transport passes, generating vast illicit revenues. The then Director of Mines, Sameer

Vishnoi, reportedly issued the order enabling this shift on July 15, 2020. Businessman Suryakant Tiwari, described by the ED as the mastermind behind the scam, allegedly collected ₹25 per

tonne from transporters through an organised network of operatives. Advertisement The investigation has since expanded to encompass a related DMF (District Mineral Foundation) scam, which

involves large-scale irregularities in tender allocations in the Korba district. The Economic Offences Wing has registered FIRs against 36 individuals, including former ministers and MLAs,

based on ED findings. The Supreme Court’s decision to grant conditional bail in the coal levy scam has reignited intense political scrutiny in Chhattisgarh. As central agencies continue to

advance their investigations into both the coal and DMF scams, the spotlight now turns to the efficacy of institutional safeguards meant to protect public resources. Ensuring transparency,

restoring public trust, and upholding accountability in the governance of mineral wealth will be a defining challenge for both the state government and the Centre in the coming months.

Advertisement