C.A.V. Order

1. This is the First Anticipatory bail application of the applicant Anil Tuteja, under Section 482 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, apprehending his arrest in the offence of Crime Number RC2162025A0006 dated 16-04-2025, registered at Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi, (hereinafter called as “CBI”) for the offence punishable under sections 182, 211, 193, 195-A, 166-A, 120-B of the IPC, Section 7, 7A, 8 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in the year 2018).

2. The instant anticipatory bail application is filed by the applicant directly to this Court as per the direction given by the Hon’ble Supreme Court by its order dated 09-03-2026, passed in Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 19892 of 2025, whereby the Hon’ble Supreme Court granted liberty to the applicant to approach this Court for grant of regular/anticipatory bail. As the case may be.

3. Brief facts of the case are that on 12.02.2015, the Anti-Corruption Bureau/ Economic Offence Wing, Raipur (in short “ACB/EOW”), registered an FIR of Crime No. 09/2015, against certain government officials of Nagarik Apurti Nigam, Chhattisgarh, Raipur (hereinafter called as “NAN”) who were working in various districts at that time. The offence was registered under Section 109, 120-B of the IPC, Section 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The ACB/EOW filed charge sheet on 06-06-2015 in the NAN FIR, for the offence under Section 109, 120-B and 420 of the IPC, Section 11, 13(1)(d) and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The applicant was not named in the charge sheet submitted by the ACB/EOW. On 05-12-2018, the ACB/EOW filed a supplementary charge sheet in the said NAN FIR, naming the applicant, vide charge sheet No. 26A/2015.

4. On 09-01-2019, the Enforcement Directorate (hereinafter called as “ED”) registered the ECIR/RPSZO/01/2019 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (in short “PMLA 2002”), in which the applicant was an accused. In the said ECIR registered by the ED, the applicant was granted anticipatory bail by this Court vide order dated 29.04.2019, passed in MCrCA No. 1679/2018, on the ground that there is no direct evidence against the applicant. Thereafter, between the period of 27.02.2020 and 01.03.2020, the income tax department searched and seized the electronic devices from the beauty salon of the applicant’s wife and the residential premises of the applicant. Vide order dated 18.03.2020, the applicant was granted interim protection from arrest in NAN ECIR by this Court, in an application filed under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. The application of the applicant under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. was finally allowed on 14.08.2020, in MCrCA No. 469/2020. Against the grant of anticipatory bail to the applicant, the ED has filed the SLP (Crl.) No. 6323-24/2020 before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The said SLP was listed before the Hon’ble Supreme Court on 09.07.2024, and time was extended to file an affidavit by the ED as they have pleaded that the applicant misused the anticipatory bail granted to him, and thereafter, the affidavit was filed on 25.09.2024. In the said affidavit, four scams, i.e. Custom Rice Milling Scam, Coal Scam, Mahadev Scam and DMF Scam, were alleged. Out of these four scams, the applicant was granted bail in two scams, i.e. Custom Rice Milling and DMF Scam.

5. Thereafter, on the WhatsApp chats of the mobile phone of the applicant during the search by the Income Tax department, the ED sought cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to him in NAN ECIR. The ACB/EOW registered another FIR against the applicant Anil Tuteja and other accused persons on 04.11.2024, vide Crime No. 49/2024, for the offences under Sections 7, 7A, 8 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Sections 182, 211, 193, 195A, 166A and 120-B of the IPC. This FIR was transferred to CBI by the State Government of Chhattisgarh, in exercise of powers under Section 6 of the De