Jaychand Koshale Vs State of Chhattisgarh (Chhattisgarh High Court)
The Chhattisgarh High Court considered the first regular bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 by the applicant, who was arrested on 21 September 2025 in connection with Crime No. 03/2024 registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offence Wing, Raipur. The case arises from allegations linked to an illegal coal levy racket uncovered during an Enforcement Directorate investigation into money laundering. Based on information shared under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, an FIR was registered against multiple accused, including senior bureaucrats, private individuals, and the present applicant, for offences under Sections 420, 120-B, and 384 of the IPC and Sections 7, 7A, and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
According to the prosecution, a syndicate involving government officials and private persons manipulated policy decisions to convert an online coal transport permit system into a manual one through a government order dated 15 July 2020. This allegedly enabled systematic extortion of ₹25 per tonne of coal transported in the State, resulting in illegal collections estimated at around ₹540 crore between July 2020 and June 2022. The applicant, a government employee, was alleged to be a trusted operative of a senior official, acting as a cash carrier for illegal coal levy proceeds and facilitating the transfer of money and confidential documents within the alleged network.
