New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim bail to the Chhattisgarh coal-levy scam accused, including former bureaucrats Ranu Sahu and Saumya Chaurasia.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta, which imposed several conditions on the accused, asked the state government to generate confidence among the witnesses and ensure their protection.

“The petitioners are directed to be released on interim bail till further orders, subject to their furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the trial court,” the bench said.

It said accused Ranu Sahu, Suryakant Tiwari, Sameer Vishnoi and Saumya Chaurasia are directed that they shall not stay in Chhattisgarh till further orders, except that they shall remain present before the investigating agency or the trial court as and when required.

“They are also directed to furnish the addresses of their stay outside the state of Chhattisgarh to the jurisdictional police station within one week of their release,” the bench ordered while hearing their bail pleas.

The counsel for the Chhattisgarh government opposed the bail pleas and said all of these high-profile accused are involved in multiple scams.

He urged the bench to impose strict conditions, so that the trial against them is not affected.

The bench ordered, “In the event the petitioners are found to contact the witnesses or influencing them in any manner or trying to tamper with the evidence, the same shall be taken as a misuse of concession of interim bail.” The court said this interim arrangement is without prejudice to the contentions of the respondents and no equitable consideration shall accrue in favour of the petitioners, who are being released as an interim measure only, at the time of further consideration of these matters.

“The petitioners are directed to deposit their passports before the trial court/special court immediately on their release on interim bail,” the bench said, adding that all the accused, who are being granted interim bail, will join the investigation and fully cooperate with the same.

It posted the matter for further hearing on August 26.

Chaurasia is a Chhattisgarh-cadre civil servant. She was a deputy secretary and an officer on special duty (OSD) in the office of former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel.

All the accused have been booked in multiple cases of which some are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Economic Offences Wing of the state police and they are in custody.

However, some of the accused like Sahu and Chaurasia have managed to secure bail in many cases.

According to the prosecution, a “grand conspiracy” was hatched in the natural resources-rich state to perpetrate a “coal-levy scam”, in which a total amount of Rs 540 crore was “extorted” from transporters. PTI MNL RC