C.A.V. Order

1. The applicant has preferred the present first application for grant of bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, consequent upon his arrest in connection with Crime No. 44 of 2024 dated 05.10.2024, registered by the Economic Offences Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau, Chhattisgarh, for offences punishable under Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Sections 7(b) and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. At the time of institution of the present application, the charge-sheet had not been filed; however, during the pendency of these proceedings, a charge-sheet came to be submitted on 29.06.2024 before the competent Court. Upon such filing, additional offences under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, along with Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, have also been incorporated. The applicant was taken into custody on 23.02.2026.

2. The present application emanates from and assails the order passed by the learned Special Judge (Prevention of Corruption Act), Raipur, whereby the prayer of the applicant seeking regular bail has been declined.

Case of Prosecution :

3. The prosecution case, as it unfolds from the material collected during investigation, is rooted in allegations of a well-organized and systematic corruption racket operating within the functioning of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), wherein the present applicant is alleged to have played a central and influential role. It is the prosecution’s specific case that the applicant, by virtue of his political stature and influence, exercised undue control over the administrative and financial processes of CSMCL and misused such influence to orchestrate the clearance of bills of certain manpower supply agencies in exchange for illegal gratification.

4. According to the prosecution, the modus operandi of the alleged conspiracy involved the imposition of a fixed percentage of commission on the bills submitted by manpower agencies engaged with CSMCL. It is alleged that the applicant, acting in concert with co-accused persons, particularly Naveen Pratap Singh Tomar, who was functioning as Deputy General Manager and in-charge Managing Director of CSMCL, ensured that no bills were cleared unless the concerned agencies paid the demanded commission. The prosecution asserts that Siddharth Singhania and Naveen Pratap Singh Tomar acted as key intermediaries in this arrangement, facilitating the collection, consolidation, and subsequent transfer of illegal proceeds to the applicant. The entire process is alleged to have been carried out in a clandestine yet structured manner, thereby constituting a criminal conspiracy.

5. It is further alleged that the applicant not only received such commission amounts but also actively influenced the escalation of the rate of commission beyond what was previously prevalent. The prosecution contends that, apart from the standard commission allegedly being extracted, an additional portion of the service charges payable to the manpower agencies was also siphoned off under the guise of commission at the behest of the applicant. This, according to the prosecution, demonstrates a deliberate and calculated abuse of power aimed at deriving pecuniary advantage through illegal means.

6. A significant development in the prosecution case arises from the intervention of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which, during the course of its investigation under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, unearthed substantial evidence pointing towards corrupt practices within CSMCL. A formal communication dated 05.12.2023 (F. No. ECIR/RPZO/05/2023/678) was addressed by the Deputy Director of the Enforcement Directorate, Raipur, to the Director General of Police, Chhattisgarh, under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, sharing details of predicate offences disclosed during the money laundering investigation and requesting registration of