Former CM Bhupesh Baghel Questions Integrity of Investigation; Calls It “Criminal Fraud on the Court”
Raipur, October 14, 2025 — The Raipur Special Court, hearing the bail plea of Suryakant Tiwari, the main accused in the high-profile Coal Scam, has issued notices to senior officials of the Economic Offences Wing and Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW-ACB). Those named include Director Amresh Mishra, Deputy Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma, and Additional Superintendent of Police Chandresh Thakur, asking them to respond to allegations of submitting pre-typed, fabricated documents during court proceedings.
The Controversy
During the hearing of bail applications in Case Nos. 02/2024 and 03/2024, the EOW-ACB submitted several documents to the court, including a statement allegedly recorded under Section 164 CrPC by co-accused Nikhil Chandrakar. However, lawyers for Tiwari raised objections, claiming the documents were not genuine.
According to complainant Girish Dewangan, when copies of Chandrakar’s statement were shared with the defense team, numerous discrepancies were found — the document’s language and font did not match standard formats used in Chhattisgarh courts. Dewangan alleged the statement appeared to have been drafted outside the court on a computer and later submitted as an official court record through a pen drive.
He further claimed that no statement was actually recorded before a magistrate, and the file was falsely presented as such. Dewangan described this as an act of document forgery and a serious breach of judicial norms, demanding a detailed inquiry and strict action.
How the Alleged Forgery Was Exposed
Dewangan stated that the issue came to light when he filed an application before the Registrar (Vigilance) of the Chhattisgarh High Court on September 12, 2025. A forensic expert, Imran Khan, examined the document and confirmed that the formatting did not align with official court records. Dewangan subsequently lodged a formal complaint before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, alleging a criminal conspiracy to mislead the court with fabricated evidence.
Legal and Political Reactions
Senior Advocate Faizal Rizvi described the incident as “unprecedented in India’s judicial history,” stating that this is perhaps the first time an investigative agency presented a typed statement from its own office instead of recording it before a magistrate. He said the act violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair trial, and severely damages the credibility of the state’s investigative system.
Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel reacted strongly on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), questioning, “Have investigation agencies now started manufacturing fake statements and evidence themselves? Are they taking contracts to frame people?” He called the alleged fabrication a “serious criminal fraud upon the court.”
Baghel further noted that based on the lawyers’ complaint, the court has issued notices to EOW-ACB officials, adding that such actions undermine the justice system. “If agencies start creating fake evidence, how can citizens expect justice?” he wrote, urging the High Court and Supreme Court to take cognizance of the matter.
Leave a Reply