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Vinay Kumar Choubey, an IAS officer implicated in the Jharkhand liquor scam, has been granted bail by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court. The scam, estimated at approximately 100 crore, caused a revenue loss of 38 crore to the state government. Choubey’s lawyer, Devesh Ajmani, stated that the ACB failed to file a chargesheet within the stipulated 90-day period, prompting a default bail petition. The court’s order mandates that Choubey cannot leave the state without permission and must not change his mobile number throughout the trial. He is also required to provide two personal bonds of 25,000 rupees each. If Choubey needs to travel outside the state, he must seek prior court approval.
Choubey, a 1999-batch IAS officer, was summoned by the ACB on May 20 for questioning related to the liquor scam. After extensive interrogation, he was presented in court and remanded to judicial custody. The new excise policy, based on the Chhattisgarh model, was implemented in Jharkhand in 2022 with the expectation of increased revenue. However, the policy led to a revenue loss of approximately 38 crore. This loss was attributed to the activities of a Chhattisgarh-based syndicate, along with the use of fake holograms and the illegal supply of liquor.
In October 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the premises of Vinay Kumar Choubey and Joint Secretary Gajendra Singh, among others, in connection with the scam. Following Choubey’s bail, Babulal Marandi, the former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition in Jharkhand, posted on social media, stating that the ACB intentionally failed to file a chargesheet within 90 days against the former secretary of Hemant Soren, facilitating his bail. Marandi alleged that the Hemant government orchestrated the arrest of its former secretary to influence the ED’s investigation and to destroy evidence. He urged the ED to take strong action against the corrupt individuals involved in looting thousands of crores of public money. Choubey had served as the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and as the Chief Electoral Officer of Jharkhand.
