Saumya Chaurasia granted bail
Raipur | Correspondent: The Supreme Court granted bail to suspended State Administrative Service officer Saumya Chaurasia on Wednesday. However, she will not be released immediately.
Her bail plea was heard by a bench comprising Justice Suryakant and Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan.
While granting bail, the court imposed several conditions, including that she cannot leave the state.
Additionally, Chaurasia remains in custody in connection with another case filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, for which she has not been granted bail.
As a result, despite the Supreme Court’s bail order, Chaurasia will continue to remain in jail.
Allegations Against Saumya Chaurasia
Saumya Chaurasia, along with several others, has been accused by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department of collecting an illegal coal levy amounting to over ₹540 crore in Chhattisgarh.
It is alleged that government officials, politicians, and businessmen conspired to collect ₹25 per tonne on coal transportation. To facilitate this, they reportedly manipulated the rules for online coal transportation permissions, only allowing transporters who paid the illegal levy to receive offline permits.
In connection with the case, the ED arrested Congress leader and businessman Suryakant Tiwari, IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, coal trader Sunil Agarwal, and Saumya Chaurasia, who was considered a close aide to then-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Others accused include Suryakant Tiwari’s uncle Laxmikant Tiwari, mineral officer Shivshankar Nag, and associates Rajesh Chaudhary and Sandeep Nayak, all of whom were also arrested.
Following these arrests, the state’s Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a separate case against the accused and launched its own investigation.
In Jail for 21 Months
Saumya Chaurasia, who served as the Deputy Secretary to then-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, was arrested on December 2, 2022, in connection with the coal levy scam and alleged money laundering activities.
The 44-year-old, a 2008 batch State Administrative Service officer, has been in jail since her arrest. She has repeatedly sought bail, but her requests have been rejected by both the High Court and the Supreme Court.
In a hearing last December, the Supreme Court even imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh on her during the bail proceedings.