The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Devendra Dadsena, an accused in the alleged Chhattisgarh liquor scam, observing that the investigation against him had been completed and that the trial was unlikely to conclude anytime soon.
A Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana noted that Dadsena had been in custody and that the prosecution had cited 254 witnesses against 21 accused, making an early conclusion of the trial improbable. The Court observed:
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“The investigation is over. Having regard to the fact that the conclusion of trial will take some reasonable time, particularly when the prosecution has cited 254 witnesses and there are 21 accused persons, we are satisfied that the accused can be released on bail without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case.”
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Dadsena, submitted that the co-accused Narayan Sahu had already been granted bail by the Supreme Court and sought parity.
It was alleged that Dadsena, who had earlier worked as the personal assistant to former Minister Ram Gopal Agrawal, was entrusted with collecting and transporting money as part of the alleged liquor syndicate.
Allowing the appeal, the Court directed that Dadsena be released on bail on the same terms and conditions as imposed in the case of co-accused Narayan Sahu.