Mr. Baghel, along with several others was accused of tarnishing the image of Rajesh Munat, sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Minister in the then Raman Singh government, in a ‘fake sex CD’ case
| Photo Credit: PTI

Granting relief to former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel in an alleged ‘fake sex CD case’ from 2017, a court here has dropped all charges against him on Tuesday (March 4, 2025), a party spokesperson said. 

Mr. Baghel, along with several others was accused of tarnishing the image of Rajesh Munat, sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA and former Minister in the then Raman Singh government, in a ‘fake sex CD’ case. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case in 2017 against the accused, including former journalist and Mr. Baghel’s close aide, Vinod Verma. 

“The then BJP government at the Centre had made the CBI register a case against the then State Congress chief Mr. Bhupesh Baghel in the fake sex CD case. Today, a CBI court discharged Mr. Baghel from the case. It has dropped all charges against him and the court has agreed that no case is made against Mr. Bhupesh Baghel, and all the provisions slapped against him were wrong,” State Congress spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla said. 

Earlier in the day, senior advocate of the Jabalpur High Court Manish Dutt, appearing as a defence lawyer, said Mr. Baghel had been “implicated in a false case”.

“Today, there was a debate in the CD case. We were told that he [Mr. Baghel] has been implicated in a false case. Neither did he make the CD nor did he distribute it nor did he commit any offence. Arguments are going on right now. CBI’s arguments have been made. After that, the order will come from the court. Bhupesh Baghel has left after the judge’s order because the Assembly session is going on,” Mr. Dutt said.

“Satyamev Jayate (truth alone triumphs),” Mr. Baghel said in a brief post on social media platform X. 

The trial in the case resumed in January after the proceedings remained dormant for nearly six years, including five years during which the Congress ruled the State (2018-2023). As soon as Mr. Baghel assumed power, the CBI filed an application in the Delhi court that the case should be shifted to Delhi because the accused in the case, Mr. Baghel, was then the CM of the State, while the other accused, Vinod Verma, was his advisor, due to which a fair hearing of this case could not take place in Chhattisgarh.