NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday, August 4, a plea filed by former Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel and his son Chaitanya Baghel, challenging the powers of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arrest and investigate accused persons and the jurisdiction of these agencies in such cases.
Bhupesh and Chaitanya, in their petition filed before the apex court, questioned the legitimacy of the probe being conducted by the ED and the CBI.
Chaitanya was arrested by the ED on 18 July following a search at his residence, which he shares with his father in Bhilai town, Chhattisgarh. He is currently in judicial custody till August 4 in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a purported liquor scam.
The ED has claimed that Chaitanya “handled” more than ₹1,000 crore worth of “proceeds of crime” generated from the alleged liquor scam in the state and used ₹16.7 crore of this amount for the development of his real estate project. Chaitanya has vehemently denied the allegations and claimed innocence in the case.
The former Chief Minister has alleged that the ED's action against his son was initiated with political motives, aiming to divert attention from the “illegal tree felling” for coal mines in the state, an issue the Congress was set to raise in the state assembly last week.