The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court has granted bail to IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey, who was incarcerated in connection with the Jharkhand liquor scam, which reportedly involved around 100 crore rupees, leading to an estimated 38 crore rupees loss in revenue for the state. Choubey’s legal counsel, Devesh Ajmani, stated that the ACB did not file a charge sheet within the mandatory 90-day period, thus enabling a default bail petition.
The court’s ruling mandates that Choubey cannot leave the state without prior authorization and must maintain the same mobile number throughout the duration of the trial. He is also required to submit two personal bonds, each worth 25,000 rupees. Any travel outside of Jharkhand necessitates court approval.
Choubey, a senior 1999-batch IAS officer, was summoned by the ACB on May 20th for questioning concerning the liquor scam. Following a prolonged interrogation, he was brought before the court and placed in judicial custody.
The roots of the scam lie in the introduction of a new excise policy in 2022, modeled after the Chhattisgarh system. While the policy aimed at boosting revenue, it instead resulted in a loss exceeding 38 crore rupees for the Jharkhand government. Key factors contributing to the loss included the activities of a Chhattisgarh-based syndicate, the use of counterfeit holograms, and the illicit distribution of alcohol.
In October 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the residences of Vinay Kumar Choubey, Joint Secretary Gajendra Singh, and others in connection with the ongoing investigation. Following Choubey’s bail, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Babulal Marandi took to social media, expressing concerns that the ACB deliberately delayed the filing of the charge sheet against Hemant Soren’s former secretary within the 90-day timeframe, thereby easing his path to bail. Marandi alleged that the then-government was complicit in the arrest of the former secretary to impede the ED’s investigation and tamper with evidence, and called for strict action against the alleged perpetrators of the corruption.