Chhattisgarh HC grants relief to Bhupesh Baghel in morphed CD case

Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. | Photo Credit: ANI The Chhattisgarh High Court on Thursday (July 30, 2026) stayed further proceedings against former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in the alleged BJP MLA Rajesh Munat morphed CD case, said Harshwardhan Pargania, one of the lawyers who argued the case on behalf of the ex-Chief Minister.Mr. Pargania told The Hindu that Justice Radhakishan Agrawal passed the interim order while hearing Mr. Baghel’s petition challenging the January 24, 2026 order of the Special Judge (CBI), Raipur, which had set aside a previous discharge and directed that charges be framed against him.,“Mr. Baghel argued that the trial court had already proceeded to frame charges pursuant to the revisional court’s order. He contended that if the trial were allowed to continue, the present petition would be rendered infructuous,” he said.The court was urged that further proceedings before the trial court be stayed pending disposal of the petition. A detailed order is awaited.9-year-old caseThe matter pertains to a nine-year-old criminal case where it was alleged that a morphed obscene video purportedly depicting then Chhattisgarh Minister Rajesh Munat was created and circulated in 2017 to damage his reputation.While Mr. Baghel had claimed and maintained that the allegations were politically motivated, a case was registered against the senior Congress leader and others on the basis of a complaint by Mr. Munat and the probe was subsequently transferred to the Central agency.The very next year, Mr. Baghel and four others were booked under Sections 469 (forgery for purpose of harming reputation), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and 67A of the IT Act (whoever publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form any material which contains sexually explicit act).One of the accused, Raipur-based automobile dealer Rinku Khanuja, ended his life in June 2018 when the investigation in the case was still on.In due course, the CBI charge-sheeted the former Chief Minister and others for criminal conspiracy, forgery for the purpose of harming reputation, using a forged electronic record as genuine and publishing or transmitting sexually explicit electronic material.However, in March 2025, a special judicial magistrate discharged Mr. Baghel, holding that there was no prima facie material linking him to the alleged conspiracy or circulation of the video. That order was set aside by the Special Judge (CBI) in January this year even as the court directed that charges be framed against him.“This led to the present proceedings before the High Court,” Mr. Pargania added.In his plea before the High Court, Mr. Baghel argued that the CBI court exceeded its powers in overturning his discharge. According to him, instead of deciding only whether the trial court was right to discharge him, the court effectively changed the nature of the charges against him, something only a trial court could do at the appropriate stage of the proceedings.He further argued that a higher court could interfere with a discharge order only in exceptional cases, such as “where the order is clearly illegal or unsupported by evidence”.Opposing the plea, the CBI counsel argued that the revisional court rightly set aside the discharge order after considering the material on record and that the High Court should not interfere with the ruling.The CBI also questioned the maintainability of Mr. Baghel’s petition.Mr. Pargania further added that on merits, Mr. Baghel argued that the prosecution material failed to disclose the “grave suspicion” necessary for framing charges.Taking note of the contentions, the High Court had stayed further proceedings before the trial court, he added. Published - July 30, 2026 10:34 pm IST