The Supreme Court recently granted bail to former IAS officer Anil Tuteja in connection with the alleged Liquor and District Mineral Foundation (DMF) scam in Chhattisgarh, while taking note of his prolonged incarceration, the stage of trial, and parity with co-accused who had already secured bail.

During the hearing, senior advocate Soed Alam, appearing for Tuteja, submitted that the retired civil servant had been in custody for nearly two-and-a-half years across multiple cases and was arrested in the present matter in February 2026. He argued that the prosecution’s allegation was essentially that Tuteja had influenced the award of certain contracts relating to civil works in mineral development areas while serving as Joint Secretary in the Industries Department.

It was further contended that apart from statements of co-accused persons, there was little substantive material against Tuteja in the present case. It was also argued that the State had repeatedly resorted to “evergreening of offences,” alleging that whenever bail was granted in one matter, a fresh arrest followed in another case. Counsel pointed out that out of ten accused persons, nine had already been granted bail, including serving senior officers.

Opposing the plea, the State of Chhattisgarh relied upon WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged by Tuteja with a former law officer of the State in 2019. The prosecution argued that the chats demonstrated attempts to influence judicial processes and witnesses in other matters and sought to portray Tuteja as a “habitual offender” and the “master orchestrator” behind multiple scams in the State.

The State further submitted that multiple criminal cases were pending against Tuteja, including matters relating to the rice milling scam, coal scam, liquor scam, Mahadev betting app case, and the DMF scam. According to the prosecution, he wielded considerable influence in the State administration and there existed a serious apprehension of witness tampering if released on bail.

The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, however, noted that there were around 85 witnesses and nine accused persons in the case, and that the trial was likely to take substantial time to conclude. The Court also observed that the WhatsApp messages relied upon by the State pertained to events of 2019 and were themselves the subject matter of separate proceedings.

While acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations, the Court observed that Tuteja was now a retired officer and the matter had to be examined from the standpoint of bail jurisprudence rather than punishment before trial. Without expressing any opinion on the merits of the allegations, the Court directed his release on bail subject to stringent conditions.

Considering the apprehensions raised by the State, the Court directed that Tuteja would remain outside the State of Chhattisgarh during the period of bail and furnish his address and contact details to the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the jurisdictional court within one week of release. The Court further restrained him from contacting serving government officers and directed him not to make any direct or indirect attempt to influence witnesses or tamper with evidence.

Appearances

For Petitioner- Mr. Shoeb Alam, Sr. Adv. Mr. Arshdeep Singh Khurana, Adv. Mr. Manohar Pratap, AOR Mr. Harsh Srivastava, Adv. Mr. Peeyush Bhatia, Adv. Mr. Chetan Nagpal, Adv. Mr. Aayushman Singh, Adv. Mr. Ish Kumar Verma, Adv. Mr. Jasraj Singh, Adv.

For Respondent- Mr. Ravi Sharma, AAG Mr. Apoorv Shukla, Adv. Ms. Prabhleen A. Shukla, Adv. Mr. Praphull Kumar, Adv. Ms. Ilashri