The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to Satpal Singh Chhabra, an accused in the alleged District Mineral Foundation (DMF) scam in Chhattisgarh, holding that no useful purpose would be served by his continued incarceration, particularly when other co-accused had already been enlarged on bail.
The prosecution alleged that Chhabra acted as a key intermediary in securing work orders under the District Mineral Foundation scheme by collecting illegal commissions from contractors. According to the State, vendors seeking work orders were required to pay 15-25% commission, of which Chhabra allegedly received approximately ₹5.12 crore through bank accounts linked to him.
Opposing the bail plea, the State referred to the recent arrest of former Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee treasurer Ramgopal Agrawal, submitting that he was a common link in multiple alleged scams and that further investigation was underway. Responding to the State’s submissions, Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked:
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“This is your now’s way of extending your detention. We have arrested a person, he has five cases. What, you will arrest him in Case A, then you will exhaust his detention in Case A, then you will arrest him in Case B?”
Counsel for Chhabra argued that the State was attempting to “evergreen” his custody by linking successive investigations to newly arrested persons. It was contended that Chhabra had no criminal antecedents, over 123 witnesses were yet to be examined, and the trial was unlikely to conclude in the near future.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana noted that FIR had been registered on the basis of information received from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding a larger conspiracy linked to alleged money laundering. It further recorded that Chhabra had been in custody since 18 February 2026 and that one of the principal accused, Anil Tuteja, along with other co-accused, had already been granted bail by the Supreme Court.
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Taking note of the prolonged custody and the fact that the trial would take considerable time, the Bench observed that no purpose would be served by keeping the petitioner in custody. Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the Court directed that Satpal Singh Chhabra be released on regular bail, subject to the satisfaction of the trial court and on the same terms and conditions imposed on the co-accused.