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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Rs 2,000cr liquor scam: High court declares arrest of accused illegal
Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has declared the arrest of Anwar Dhebar, accused in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Rs 2,000 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam, as 'illegal'. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In its order passed on May 30, the court noted that Dhebar's arrest memo did not contain any column for the ground of the arrest of the petitioner and he neither was informed about the grounds of arrest, nor reasons for arrest. Allowing a writ petition filed by Anwar Dhebar, a division bench comprising Justice Siddhartha Varma and Justice Madan Pal Singh granted him bail in the FIR lodged against him at Kasna police station of GB Nagar in 2023. The court sent this judgment to the office of the director general of police (DGP), UP, directing him to get it circulated among all the police personnel of the state of Uttar Pradesh. "We are getting this circulation done as a technical error in many of the arrests is resulting in the declaration of the arrests as illegal", the court added. According to this FIR, M/s Prizm Holography Security Films Pvt Ltd, a company based in Site-5, UPSIDC, Greater Noida, was allegedly granted a tender illegally by the Chhattisgarh Excise Department in 2019 to supply holograms meant to ensure liquor authenticity. However, in connivance with top state officials, the firm supplied duplicate holograms, facilitating the sale of illicit country liquor from state-run shops. Senior IAS and ITS officers named in the case included Arunpati Tripathi (Special Secretary, Excise), Niranjan Das (Excise Commissioner), and Anil Tuteja. Also named are Anwar Dhebar, brother of the then Raipur mayor, and Vidhu Gupta, managing director of Prizm Holography. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The FIR claimed that holograms, both original and duplicate, were manufactured at the Noida facility. Almost 11 months later, on June 18, 2024, Dhebar, who had been granted bail by the Chhattisgarh high court at 9.20 PM in a separate case was arrested immediately by the Uttar Pradesh Police just 20 minutes later in Raipur itself. Following the arrest, the UP investigation officer (IO) applied for a transit remand under Section 167 of the CrPC before the Magistrate at Raipur, which was granted for 48 hours. Subsequently, on June 21, 2024, Dhebar was produced before the Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), Meerut, who remanded him in judicial custody till July 1, 2024. This happened despite the petitioner having specifically objected to the arrest, arguing that it was in violation of Articles 19(1) and 22(1) of the Constitution of India, as well as section 50 of the CrPC, which mandates communication of the grounds of arrest, Dhebar's lawyer said. He then moved the high court, seeking a declaration that his arrest was illegal and void, and further prayed for the quashing of all subsequent remand orders. On the other hand, the additional advocate general for the state submitted that since there was a memo of arrest and the son of the petitioner had been informed about the arrest, it could not be said to be illegal, as the reasons were known to the petitioners. The court observed that the arrest memo did not contain any column stating the reason for arrest. Furthermore, no opportunity of hearing was given to the petitioner to oppose the custodial remand. Thus, the court concluded 'with some certainty' that the petitioner was never furnished with the grounds of arrest, as mandated under Section 50 CrPC (now Section 47 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita). Thus, the court declared arrests illegal, however, it refused to interfere with the charge-sheet, which has been submitted. The court clarified that the court may continue with the proceedings in accordance with law as per the charge-sheet.
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- General
- New Indian Express
Allahabad HC declares arrest of two accused in Chhattisgarh liquor scam as 'illegal'
Almost 11 months later, on June 18, 2024, Dhebar, who had been granted bail by the Chhattisgarh High Court, was again arrested by UP police just 20 minutes after his release in Raipur. Following the arrest, the Investigation Officer (IO) applied for a transit remand under Section 167 of CrPC before the magistrate at Raipur and it was granted for 48 hours. Subsequently, Dhebar was produced before the special judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) of Meerut, who remanded him to judicial custody until July 1, 2024. Finally, Dhebar moved Allahabad High Court and his plea was clubbed with the petition filed by the other accused ex-IAS officer Anil Tuteja who was arrested separately in the connection with the same case. As both the petitions sought the court to declare their arrest illegal, they were heard together by the court. On the other hand, the Additional Advocate General for the state submitted that since there was a memo of arrest and the son of the petitioner Dhebar had been informed about the arrest, the arrest could not be held illegal as the reason for it was known to the petitioner. The bench however was not satisfied with the Additional Advocate General's contention, and it stated that neither in the memos of arrest nor in the information given to Dhebar's son or in the remand orders were given the ground of arrest communicated to the petitioners. Furthermore, the court also observed that the petitioners were given no opportunity of hearing to oppose the custodial remand. The court concluded that the petitioners were never furnished the grounds of arrest as mandated under Section 50 of CrPC. Declaring their arrests illegal, the court refused to interfere with the charge-sheet submitted by the investigation officer. The Court, however, clarified that the proceedings following law as per the charge-sheet may continue in the case.
India Today
20-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
1-year jail not mandatory for bail: Supreme Court frees liqour scam accused
The Supreme Court has said there was "no rule" that a person accused of money laundering ought to spend a year in jail before being given bail, as it allowed relief to a businessman.A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to businessman Anwar Dhebar in the alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam case and said, "It is not a rule to be in custody for a year to get bail."advertisementHe was arrested in August last year and has spent over nine months in jail. The top court said the maximum punishment for the offence alleged was seven years, and that the trial against Dhebar was unlikely to start any time soon given the large number of witnesses."The appellant was arrested on August 8, 2024. Forty witnesses have been cited. Investigation is in progress. In the predicate offence there are 450 witnesses. In predicate offence cognisance has not been taken. Therefore there is no possibility of trial commencing in near future. The maximum punishment is seven years," it to the Senthil Balaji verdict, the court held Dhebar was entitled to be released on bail with stringent terms and conditions."He shall surrender passport, if any," the bench ED counsel urged the bench not to release the accused on bail saying he was arrested in August last year and it hadn't even been a year of his ED lawyer said the top court was following the "one-year custody benchmark" to grant bail in various cases and submitted the yardstick ought to be followed in Dhebar's accused, the ED lawyer said, was politically connected and an influential person, and his bail would hamper the apex court, however, asked the trial court to release the accused within a week on terms and conditions fixed by the special brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, was first to be arrested in the money laundering case stemming from an Income Tax department chargesheet filed in connection with alleged tax evasion and irregularities in liquor trade in Chhattisgarh and some other ED, in the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) submitted in the case in a PMLA court in Raipur on July 4, claimed Rs 2,161 crore of corruption money was generated in the "liquor scam" that began in 2019 in Chhattisgarh and this amount should have gone to the state ED alleged a syndicate comprising senior bureaucrats, politicians, their associates and officials of the state excise department had indulged in irregularities.
The Hindu
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
'No rule one must spend a year in jail for relief': Supreme Court grants bail in money laundering case
The Supreme Court has said 'there was 'no rule' that a person accused of money laundering ought to spend a year in jail before being give bail as it allowed the relief to a businessman'. A Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to businessman Anwar Dhebar in the alleged ₹2,000 crore liquor scam case and said, "It is not a rule to be in custody for a year to get bail". He was arrested in August last year and has spent over nine months in jail. The Supreme Court said the maximum punishment for the offence alleged was seven years, and that the trial against Mr. Dhebar was unlikely to start any time soon given the large number of witnesses. "The appellant was arrested on August 8, 2024. Forty witnesses have been cited. Investigation is in progress. In the predicate offence there are 450 witnesses. In predicate offence cognisance has not been taken. Therefore there is no possibility of trial commencing in near future. The maximum punishment is seven years," it noted. Referring to the Senthil Balaji verdict, the Court held Mr. Dhebar was entitled to be released on bail with stringent terms and conditions. "He shall surrender passport, if any," the Bench added. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) counsel urged the Bench not to release the accused on bail saying he was arrested in August last year and it hadn't even been a year of his custody. The ED lawyer said the Supreme Court was following the "one-year custody benchmark" to grant bail in various cases and submitted the yardstick ought to be followed in Mr. Dhebar's case. 'The accused,' the ED lawyer said, 'was politically connected and an influential person, and his bail would hamper the trial'. The Supreme Court, however, asked the trial court to release the accused within a week on terms and conditions fixed by the special court. Mr. Dhebar, brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, was the first to be arrested in the money laundering case stemming from an Income Tax department charge sheet filed in connection with alleged tax evasion and irregularities in liquor trade in Chhattisgarh and some other states. The ED, in the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) submitted in the case in a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Raipur on July 4, claimed ₹2,161 crore of corruption money was generated in the "liquor scam" that began in 2019 in Chhattisgarh and this amount should have gone to the State Exchequer. The ED alleged a syndicate comprising senior bureaucrats, politicians, their associates and officials of the State Excise Department had indulged in irregularities.
Time of India
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
SC grants bail in 2,000 crore liquor scam case: 'No rule one must spend a year in jail for relief':
The Supreme Court has said there was "no rule" that a person accused of money laundering ought to spend a year in jail before being given bail as it allowed the relief to a businessman. A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to businessman Anwar Dhebar in the alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam case and said, "It is not a rule to be in custody for a year to get bail." He was arrested in August last year and has spent over nine months in jail. The top court said the maximum punishment for the offence alleged was seven years, and that the trial against Dhebar was unlikely to start any time soon given the large number of witnesses. Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Uncover Bangladesh's Jewelry Price List (Check Now) Jewelry | search ads Undo "The appellant was arrested on August 8, 2024. Forty witnesses have been cited. Investigation is in progress. In the predicate offence there are 450 witnesses. In predicate offence cognisance has not been taken. Therefore there is no possibility of trial commencing in near future. The maximum punishment is seven years," it noted. Referring to the Senthil Balaji verdict, the court held Dhebar was entitled to be released on bail with stringent terms and conditions. Live Events "He shall surrender passport, if any," the bench added. The ED counsel urged the bench not to release the accused on bail saying he was arrested in August last year and it hadn't even been a year of his custody. The ED lawyer said the top court was following the "one-year custody benchmark" to grant bail in various cases and submitted the yardstick ought to be followed in Dhebar's case. The accused, the ED lawyer said, was politically connected and an influential person, and his bail would hamper the trial. The apex court , however, asked the trial court to release the accused within a week on terms and conditions fixed by the special court. Dhebar, brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, was first to be arrested in the money laundering case stemming from an Income Tax department chargesheet filed in connection with alleged tax evasion and irregularities in liquor trade in Chhattisgarh and some other states. The ED, in the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) submitted in the case in a PMLA court in Raipur on July 4, claimed Rs 2,161 crore of corruption money was generated in the "liquor scam" that began in 2019 in Chhattisgarh and this amount should have gone to the state exchequer. The ED alleged a syndicate comprising senior bureaucrats, politicians, their associates and officials of the state excise department had indulged in irregularities.
