Chhattisgarh liquor scam case: Supreme Court rejects pleas of ED, State against grant of bail to Chaitanya Baghel

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (July 22, 2026), dismissed two separate pleas of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Chhattisgarh government challenging the bail granted to Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel, in alleged liquor scam cases.

While dismissing the pleas of probe agencies against grant of bail to Mr. Chaitanya Baghel, the Supreme Court flagged the growing practice of routinely challenging bail orders and said it has led to a “significant expansion of bail jurisprudence, prompting the court to examine whether a legally flawed bail order, by itself, is sufficient to justify cancellation of an accused's liberty”.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, however, expunged the adverse remarks made by the Chhattisgarh High Court against the Economic Offence wing (EOW) of the State police probe while granting bail to Mr. Chaitanya Baghel.