Supreme Court – Daily Orders
Niranjan Das vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 25 May, 2026
ITEM NO.9 COURT NO.1 SECTION II-C
S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.)
No(s).6457/2026
[Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated
10-03-2026 in MCRC No.10422/2025 passed by the High Court
of Chhattisgarh at Bilaspur]
NIRANJAN DAS Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
STATE OF CHHATTISGARH Respondent(s)
IA No. 110041/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE
IMPUGNED JUDGMENT, IA No. 110043/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM
FILING O.T.
WITH
SLP(Crl) No. 6562/2026 (II-C)
IA No. 111910/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE
IMPUGNED JUDGMENT, IA No. 111912/2026 - EXEMPTION FROM
FILING O.T.
Date : 25-05-2026 These matters were called on for
hearing today.
CORAM :
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JOYMALYA BAGCHI
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VIPUL M. PANCHOLI
For Petitioner(s) :Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Sr. Adv.
Mr. Arshdeep Singh Khurana, Adv.
Mr. Manohar Pratap, AOR
Mr. Harsh Srivastava, Adv.
Mr. Peeyush Bhatia
Signature Not Verified
Mr. Chetan Nagpal, Adv.
Digitally signed by
ARJUN BISHT
Date: 2026.05.25
Mr. Siddhant Kohli, AOR
17:30:54 IST
Reason: Mr. Kaustabh Bhattacharjee, Adv.
For Respondent(s) :Mr. Anil Kaushik, A.S.G.
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Mr. Zoheb Hussain, Adv.
Mr. Arkaj Kumar/, Adv.
Ms. Vidushi Pandey, Adv.
Mr. Animesh Upadhyay, Adv.
Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma, AOR
Mr. Ravi Sharma, AAG
Mr. Apoorv Shukla, AOR
Ms. Prabhleen A. Shukla, Adv.
Mr. Praphull Kumar, Adv.
Ms. Ilashi Gaur, Adv.
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
SLP(Crl.) No(s).6457/2026
1. The petitioner seeks enlargement on bail in FIR
No.04/2024 lodged by the Economic Offences Wing & Anti-
Corruption Bureau, Raipur, under Sections 420, 467, 468,
471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Sections
7 & 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The
petitioner was the Secretary, Excise Department, and it
appears that he was subsequently appointed as Excise
Commissioner, who is said to have control over the entire
process and to have been complicit in the formulation of
a beneficial policy in perpetrating the alleged crime.
The petitioner was arrested on 18.09.2025. We are
informed by the learned Additional Solicitor General that
the investigation qua the petitioner is complete, and the
chargesheet against him has already been filed. The
investigation in respect of some co-accused is still
going on and is likely to conclude soon. The trial,
however, is yet to formally commence, and its conclusion
will take some time. The co-accused persons of the
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petitioner have already been released on bail by this
Court or by the High Court through various orders,
including the order dated 28.01.2026 passed by this Court
in SLP(Crl) No.16406/2024 & other connected matters.
2. Taking into consideration all the attending
circumstances, however, without expressing any opinion on
merits, the prayer for bail is allowed. The petitioner is
directed to be released on bail subject to the same
conditions that have already been imposed in the case of
the co-accused.
3. The Special Leave Petition is, accordingly, disposed
of. Pending applications, if any, stand closed.
SLP(Crl) No. 6562/2026
4. The petitioner seeks enlargement on bail in a case
registered by the Directorate of Enforcement through
ECIR/RPZO/04/2024 under Sections 3 and 4 of the
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). The
predicate offence is FIR No.04/2024 dated 17.01.2024
registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the
Chhattisgarh State Police for the offences under Sections
420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code,
1860 and Sections 7 & 12 of the Prevention of Corruption
Act, 1988
5. The petitioner was the Secretary, Excise Department
and subsequently he was posted as Excise Commissioner. He
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is alleged to have control over the entire process and to
have been complicit in the formulation of a beneficial
policy in perpetrating the alleged crime. The role
assigned to the petitioner is, thus, that of the
orchestrator, and he is described as one of the kingpins.
It is also alleged that the petitioner grossly abused the
public office, causing large-scale financial implications
to the State Exchequer.
6. The petitioner has been released on bail in the
predicated offence by an order of even date passed
separately. In the PMLA case, he was arrested on
19.12.2025. There are a total of 9 accused, out of which
8 have already been released on bail in the PMLA case. It
is not in dispute that the investigation, qua the
petitioner, is complete and a statutory complaint has
already been filed against him. We find the list of
witnesses and the documents that are likely to be placed
for consideration of the Special Judge, and that the
conclusion of the trial will take a reasonable long time.
7. Keeping in view the period already spent in custody,
the fact that the co-accused have already been released
on bail and that the conclusion of the trial will take
some time, however, without expressing any opinion on the
allegations, we direct the release of the petitioner on
bail in the PMLA case also subject to the same conditions
that have already been imposed in the case of co-accused.
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8. The Special Leave Petition is, accordingly, disposed
of. Pending applications, if any, stand closed.
(ARJUN BISHT) (PREETHI DILEEP KUMAR)
ASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
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