The Chhattisgarh High Court on February 13 denied anticipatory bail to former Advocate General Satish Chandra Verma over his alleged role in the 'Nagarik Apurti Nigam' (NAN) scam..Verma stands accused of misusing his constitutional office to sway case outcomes in favor of senior state officials.Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal observed that a prima facie case was made out against Verma and thus denied anticipatory bail. "This court is satisfied that a strong prima facie case is made out against the applicant and the said conduct is part of the conspiracy which can only be revealed if the investigating agency is given the due opportunity to apprehend the applicant and investigate the case without there being any chance to hamper the witnesses and the evidence," the Court held..The Court noted that WhatsApp chats extracted from the accused's phones revealed Verma's close connection with them and it also showed that he had actively tracked the progress of their cases despite his official position."That the steps taken by the applicant were part of a conspiracy to manipulate the system and the investigation in this regard would be impacted if he is granted anticipatory bail. Necessary interrogation is warranted to reveal all the aspects and attributes related to the said offence committed against the institution," the Court added..In the present case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) provided information to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB)/Economic Offences Wing (EOW) regarding the large-scale 'NAN scam' under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), through a memo dated April 2, 2024. This included documents and digital evidence collected by the Income Tax Department under Section 132(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, against accused IAS officers Anil Tuteja and Alok Shukla.Based on this, the ED registered an ECIR and found that the accused not only obstructed the investigation but also attempted to influence the trial in connivance with Chhattisgarh bureaucrats and constitutional officeholders. ACB/EOW confidentially verified the information before proceeding with the matter.During 2019-2020, Verma, then Advocate General, allegedly received undue advantages from the accused to influence ACB/EOW officers and manipulate replies favoring their anticipatory bail plea. Following this, an FIR was registered and an investigation commenced. Verma, fearing arrest, sought anticipatory bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS)..Raipur Court denies bail to former Chhattisgarh AG Satish Chandra Verma in ED case.During the hearing, the Court noted that while the anticipatory bail applications of the accused were pending, Verma attempted to influence those defending the bail plea to secure favorable outcomes. After bail was granted to the accused, the ED challenged it before the Supreme Court and submitted WhatsApp chats retrieved by the IT Department, which led to the present case, it was added.The Court observed that the chats suggested the accused, holding top positions in the State, facilitated Verma's appointment as Advocate General in exchange for favorable intervention in their case and while Verma did not personally appear in the bail proceedings, he had overall control over the AG’s office and was actively involved in manipulating the process..The Court also noted Verma's deep-rooted connections in government, which could obstruct the investigation if bail is granted. "In the instant case, a prima facie case is made out that the conduct of the applicant has been solely driven with the motive to dupe the officers of the State to avail the benefits of disadvantageous relief," it observed.Consequently, the anticipatory bail application was dismissed.Senior Advocate Kishore Bhaduri along with Advocate Sabyasachi Bhaduri appeared for the petitioner.Deputy AG Saurabh Kumar Pande along with advocate Mayur Khandelwal appeared for the State..[Read Order]
