1 2025:CGHC:5428 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 6462 of 2024 Order reserved on 11/11/2024 Order delivered on 29/01/2025 Chandrabhushan Verma S/o Punaram Verma Aged About 47 Years R/o Near House Of Mla Dhanendra Sahu, Santoshi Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh ... Applicant versus Directorate Of Enforcement Represented By Its Assistant Director, Raipur Zonal Office, A-1 Block, 2nd Floor, Pujari Chambers, Pachpedi Naka, Raipur, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent (Cause title taken from Case Information System) For Applicant : Mr. Manoj Paranjpe, Advocate with Mr. Shobhit Koshta, Advocate For Respondent/ED : Dr. Saurabh Kumar Pande, Advocate Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravind ra Kumar Agrawal C.A.V. Order 1. This is first bail application filed by the applicant under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C. read with Sections 45 and 65 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter called as ‘the PMLA, 2002) for Digitally signed by VEDPRAKASH DEWANGAN 2 grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested on 22.08.2023 for the offence under Section 3 and 4 of the PMLA, 2002. 2. The prosecution case in brief is that, an FIR of Crime No. 112/2022 registered on 29.07.2022 at Police Station Mohan Nagar, Durg (C.G.) under Section 4A of the Public Gambling (C.G. Amendment) Act, 1976, which was registered against five accused persons, namely, Alok Singh Rajput, Rampravesh Sahu, Kharag @ Raja Singh, Abhishek and Pintu, under Section 4A of the Public Gambling (C.G. Amendment) Act, 1976 and Section 420, 120B of the IPC and also for Section 66D of Information Technology Act, 2000. The Enforcement Directorate had registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (hereinafter referred as 'ECIR') No. RPZ0/10/2022. On the secret information gathered by the officers of the ED, the raid was conducted on the premises of the accused persons in which it was found that a set with a laptop and they were collecting money by creating online IDs and through the said IDs they were placing bets for others through Mahadev Book, on Online cricket matches, horse racing, greyhound racing, kabaddi etc. Upon interrogation, the accused persons disclosed the names of two persons namely Abhishek and Pintu who taught them to procedure of creating the IDs and placing bets in various sports through the Mahadev Book. Initially, treating the FIR No. 112/2022 of P.S. Mohan Nagar, Durg and final report dated 29.07.2022 as scheduled/ predicate offence, the respondent ED registered the ECIR No. RPZO/09/2022 which was renumbered as ECIR No. RPZ0/10/2022 vide corrigendum dated 07.11.2022 issued by the ED. 3 *******In the said ECIR, FIR No. 206/2023 dated 02.06.2023 registered at P.S. Cyber Crime Vishakhapatnam Commissionerate, Andhra Pradesh, FIR No. 37/2023 registered at P.S. Bhilai Bhatti, District Durg (C.G.), FIR No. 86/2023 dated 27.02.2023 registered at P.S. Chhawani, District Durg (C.G.), FIR No. 336/2023 dated 10.08.2023 registered at P.S. Gudhiyari, District Raipur (C.G.), FIR No. 685/2023 dated 11.08.2023 registered at P.S. Khamtarai, District Raipur (C.G.). The allegation against the accused persons are that they were collecting money from the punters who intended to put the bets and deposited the money in bank accounts shared through whatsapp groups. These persons as per the choice of punters put their bets on website like Tiger Exchange, Gold-365, Laser-247, cricketbuzz.com, Play-247.win, skyexchange.com, etc. The money came through these apps were transferred to different accounts till it was siphoned off by Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Kapil Chelani and Satish Kumar, who are residing at Dubai. The other online betting apps like Lotus-365, Fair Play, Reddy Anna, Laser Book, Bet Book-247 were also operating countrywide and investigation revealed that the gambling network work thousands of crores. It also comes that various bank accounts were opened on the basis of either forged bank number and Aadhar number or misusing the PAN and Aadhar Card of daily vendors, which were used in transactions of illegal money of aforesaid illegal betting apps. It also comes on record that the illegal money generated from these online betting apps were given to the bureaucrats and politicians as protection money to run the aforesaid betting apps freely and without any legal action by the concerned police authorities and the said amount was 4 circulated through Hawala operation and the present applicant is also involved in circulating the money through Hawala operation. The applicant has been arrested on 22.08.2023 and prosecution complaint has been filed against him. *******On 20.10.2023 when the ED had filed its first prosecution complaint under Section 44 read with Section 45 of the PMLA, 2002 for the offence under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, 2002 against 14 accused persons. On 11.03.2024 the ED had filed its second supplementary prosecution complaint in the present ECIR under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA, 2002 for the offence under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, 2002 against three accused persons. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the applicant is not an accused in the predicate offence as per Public Gambling (C.G. Amendment) Act, 1976. The alleged offence is not a scheduled offence. In reply filed by the ED, they have admitted that the proceeds of crime are only the money generated from the bogus/benami accounts used by the Online Mahadev App. The investigating agency has acted most arbitrarily and it had nothing, but ill-motivated and mala fide intention to implicate the applicant in offence. He is having no connection or association in any way either with the affairs of the business of Mahadev online book or has received the proceeds of crime. He would further submit that the prosecution has failed to establish the link of present applicant with the alleged offence. *******He would further submit that the allegation against the present 5 applicant in the prosecution complaint that the promoters of Mahadev Book App obtained protection of various police and administrative officers and also the influential political persons to stop legal action against the criminal act of online betting app for which they given the protection money to them. A huge amount was paid to them through Hawala operators who used to arrange the distribution of the said illegal amount. The present applicant along with Bhim Singh Yadav and his brother Arvind Singh Yadav who all are in police service have developed relation with higher police officers. The present applicant received cash amount from the co-accused Sunil Dammani and delivered it to the higher officers and politicians in the State. The present applicant used the money sent by the promoters of Mahadev Book to invest in various firms and companies started in the name of his family members. The amount delivered through Sunil Dammani was collected and delivered through Rahul Vakte and Ritesh Kumar Yadav. He had a direct nexus with Ravi Uppal who is the Director of Mahadev Book and it is also the allegation against the present applicant that he destroyed or concealed the relevant evidence. All these allegations against the present applicant are without any basis. *******He would further submit that the applicant is suffering from schizophrenia and his treatment was continued. The minor son of the applicant namely Srijan is also suffering from Diplegia CP GMFCS and he needs constant support in his daily routine. There is no sufficient material against the applicant for commission of offence under the PMLA Act, 2002. The applicant is in jail since 22.08.2023 and till date only prosecution complaint has been filed and even the 6 charges have not been framed and therefore, there is every possibility of delay in trial. The long period of incarceration and in view of the violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. *******He would also submit that the knowledge and mens rea is an essential ingredients to establish the offence of money laundering punishable under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002 and the same is missing in the present case that the applicant had any knowledge or mens rea that Mahadev Online Book App was using some bogus bank account for transactions. It is further argued by the learned counsel for the applicant that ED cannot proceed with the pick and chose method in arraying the applicant as accused in the present case. Without there being any sufficient material against the applicant was arrested which is mala fide. The Money Laundering Act come into only when a scheduled offence is committed. Running the Mahadev Online Book App is not a scheduled offence which has been admitted by the ED in its reply that Mahadev Online Book App is not illegal and scheduled offence the ED has said that an unauthorized bank account has been opened which amounts to cheating and forgery and therefore, that is scheduled offence. There is no reference to any scheduled offence committed by the applicant. Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, 2002 defines the proceeds of crime and Section 3 defines money laundering, therefore, there has to be a criminal activity that is connected with the scheduled offence and if any person generates some money which will come under the definition of proceed of crime 7 which is defined under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, 2002, therefore, the sine qua non is the existence of scheduled offence and the existence of proceeds of crime generated from the scheduled offence. The Mahadev Online Book App is not a scheduled offence, opening of bank account is scheduled offence and therefore, money generated in terms of Section 2(1)(u) is the money generated from the bank account. The allegation against the present applicant is that he received proceeds of crime, but the ED could not identify the proceeds of crime. Mahadev Online Book App is not a scheduled offence that has been admitted by the ED. *******He would further submit that the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Vijay Madan Lal Choudhary Vs. Union of India, (2022) SCC Online SC 929 has held that the foundational facts to establish money laundering criminal activity related to scheduled offence has been committed, property in question has been derived or obtained directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity and the person concerned is directly or indirectly involved in a process or activity connected with the said property being proceeds of crime. He would rely upon para 343 of the Vijay Madan Lal Choudhari’s case (supra). ED has failed to demonstrate that the property in question has been derived or obtained directly or indirectly by the present applicant as result of that criminal activity as they have failed to prove any nexus between such proceeds of crime and the applicant. There is no evidence on record to show that the proceeds of crime generated through predicated offence have been concealed, possessed, acquired or used and claimed as untainted property by 8 the applicant. *******The statement recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002 have been considered as substantive evidence against the present applicant, whereas, in the matter of Amit Agrawal Vs. Directorate of Enforcement reported in 2024 SCC Online Delhi 141, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court has held that the statements made by co-accused/witness under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002, their evidentiary value can be tested at the stage of trial. No generation of proceeds of crime from criminal activity. The bail application of the applicant in that case was allowed. He would also rely upon another judgment passed by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the matter of Chandra Prakash Khandelwal Vs. Directorate of Enforcement reported in 2023 SCC Online Delhi 1095 and Vijay Agrawal Vs. Enforcement of Directorate, reported in (2023) 2 SCC Delhi 651. *******The ED has acted unfairly and arbitrarily to arrest the applicant without any sufficient ground, whereas, the other persons having similar allegation with that of the present applicant have neither been made as accused nor been arrested. The ED has miserably failed to prima facie demonstrate the requisite mens rea in the alleged act of the applicant to exhibit his knowledge or active participation in any act with proceeds of crime with respect to the scheduled offence. The allegation against the present applicant does not indicate any involvement in the predicate offence or even his knowledge to constitute the alleged offence, therefore, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the applicant is not guilty of an offence under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002. The applicant has not played any role 9 with respect to the Mahadev Online Book App or with the proceeds of crime. The present applicant had no role in either the creation or management of the Mahadev Online Book App or any incidental activity of online betting. He was neither the main perpetrator of the crime nor even incidentally connected to the alleged proceeds of crime generated by the Mahadev App. The allegation against the applicant made in the complaint dated 11.03.2024 is surrounded by a cloud of doubt and except for assumptions there is no clinching and cogent evidence produced by the ED against the applicant that he has dealt with the proceeds of crime in any manner. *******He would also submit that the co-accused Sunil Dammani has been granted bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide its order dated 03.10.2024, passed in Criminal Appeal No. 4108 of 2024 and Bhim Singh Yadav has been granted bail vide order dated 25.10.2024 in Criminal Appeal No. 4407 of 2024, therefore considering the similar nature of allegation, the present applicant is also entitled for bail. *******The appellant is to abide by all the conditions which may imposed by the Hon’ble Court while granting bail to him with the undertaking that he will not tamper with any evidence or to influence any witness of the case. The investigation against the present applicant has been completed and a complaint case has already been filed before the learned trial Court. He is ready to deposit his passport and to comply any other condition imposed by this Hon’ble Court. *******In support of his submissions, he would rely upon the judgment 10 passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI and another, (2022) 10 SCC 51, P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement, (2020) 13 SCC 791, Sanjay Chandra v. CBI, (2012) 1 SCC 40, Arvind Kejriwal v. Directorate of Enforcement, order dated 12.07.2024 passed in Criminal Appeal No. 2493 of 2024, Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2024 SCC OnLine SC 1920, Siddharth v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2022) 1 SCC 676, Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P., 1994 Cr.L.J. 1981 and submitted that looking to the period of his custody, he is cooperative during the entire investigation and there is no possibility of tampering with the witnesses or document as the investigation has already been completed. Therefore, the applicant may be enlarged on bail. 4. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent/Directorate of Enforcement, apart from the reply in writing submitted to the application by them has opposed the arguments made by learned counsel for the applicant and submitted that an ECIR bearing No. RPZO/10/2022 is recorded against Mahadev Online book to investigate the matter under the PMLA, Act 2002 on the basis of charge sheet No.157/2022 dated 29.07.2022 filed by police station Mohan Nagar, District Durg against Alok Singh Rajput, Rampravesh Sahu, Kharag @ Raja Singh and others for the offence under Section 120B and 420 of the IPC alleging in it that the accused persons are involved in online betting in live ludo, football, casino game and amass through Mahadev book. On being secret information, the raid was conducted and aforesaid accused persons were taken into custody who had prepared a set-up with laptops by which they collected money by 11 creating an Online ID and then the said money was put in bet for others through Mahadev Online book on online cricket match, horse racing, greyhound racing and Kabaddi etc. Various laptops, mobile phones, passbooks of various banks, debit/credit cards, sim cards, cheque books and cash were seized from the premises and an investigation under the PMLA, 2002 was undertaken after recording of the ECIR. During the course of the investigation, it came into knowledge that various FIRs have also been registered all over the country for illegal online betting through Mahadev book and one of the FIRs of Crime No.206/2023 dated 02.06.2023 was registered by Andhra Pradesh police, P.S. Cyber Crime, Vishakhapatnam Commissionerate for the offence under Section 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 read with Section 34 of the IPC, 66C, 66D of Information Technology Act, 2000 and Section 3 and 4 of Andhra Pradesh Gambling Act. The Andhra Pradesh Police has further come to the knowledge that 21 persons were running call centres for the operation of the Mahadev App. and they were collecting money from punters who intended to put bets and deposited the money in bank accounts shared through WhatsApp groups. Those persons put their bets on websites like Tiger Exchange, Gold 365, Lesser 247, cricketbuzz.com, and Play 247.win, skyexchange.com and Cricket bet9.com. The money made from the said app was transferred to different bank accounts till it was siphoned to a person named Sourabh Chandrakar who lives in Dubai. The Govt. has blocked the illegal betting website Mahadev Book. It also comes into knowledge that Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Kapil Chelani and Satish 12 Kumar who are also residing in Dubai, are known to operate close to 60 illegal offshore gambling websites such as Lotus 365, Fair Play, Reddy Anna, Lesser Book, Tiger Exchange, Bad book 247 and Gold 365. Several cases relating to fraud and illegal activities have been registered against Sourabh Chandrakar. Various FIRs have been registered against various individuals for being involved in illegal betting operations through the Mahadev book app and those FIRs are at P.S. Gudhiyari, Raipur, P.S. Bhilai Bhatthi, District Durg, P.S. Khamtarai, Raipur etc. The FIR of Crime No. 6/2024 registered by EOW, Raipur C.G. for the offence under Section 120B, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 34 of the IPC and Section 7 and 11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended on 2018) registered against Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Shubham Soni, Harishankar Tibrewal and others for being involved in betting operations through Mahadev Online book, Sky Exchange and other betting apps. The FIR No. 206/2020 registered in the Burtola P.S., Kolkata, West Bengal for the offence under Section 120B and 420 of the IPC and Section 3 and 4 of the West Bengal Price and Cheat Company Act has also been registered against Harishankar Tibrewal, Suraj Chokhani and others for being engaged in online betting. He would further submit that Mahadev’s online book provides an online platform for illegal betting in different live games like cricket, badminton, tennis, football etc. and also provides facilities for playing a number of card games like teen patti, poker, dragon tiger, virtual cricket game etc. To create an appearance of genuineness for this illegal betting 13 racket Mahadev Online Book the promoters have a company registered in the name M/s Mahadev Book Market Limited in the country of Sent Vincent and the Grenadines under the directorship in the name of Shubham Soni who is part of top management of Mahadev Online book. Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal are the main promoters and beneficiary owners of this betting syndicate. The Mahadev online book operates from abroad and provides WhatsApp contact numbers on the websites. Once a user contacts the number, he will be provided two separate contact numbers. One contact number is to be utilized for depositing money and collecting points in IDs and the second number is for contacting the website to encash points accumulated in the designated IDs. The IDs are generally created on multiple websites depending on the needs and preferences of the betters. The betting app is operated by various panels/branches which are sold by the promoters and they keep 70- 75% of the profit of the panel operations. A panel has an owner and workers normally four in number. One person can own multiple panels. The office of promoters in Dubai is commonly known as the head office by the panel owners and the said panel owners can create user profiles of players/punters. The panel operators are allotted fixed credits which can be transferred to any player/punter and credits are allocated to the players against payments in designated bank accounts. The players/punters who want to play online betting through Mahadev Book via WhatsApp number given on the website of Mahadev Book then head office refers these players/punters to the panel. After receiving the details of the panel the players/punters deposit a minimum amount of Rs.100/- with no 14 maximum amount for online betting. The panel owners receive the funds from customers into benami bank accounts which are arranged by the panel owners. These bank accounts are either opened fraudulently or loaned for commission. Thousands of employees are working in the call centre in Dubai which operates multiple WhatsApp groups for each panel. Weekly account sheets are shared with the panel owners by head office which contain statements of all bets, total profit or total loss. The panel owners are supposed to remit the shares of the Mahadev head office via hawala routs on a regular basis. During the course of the investigation, the bank account statements of various bank accounts gathered through intelligence were called for. After analysing the said bank accounts trends of funds have led ED to the doorstep of multiple entities that either remit money outside India or withdraw it as cash. It is suspected that thousands of crores of illegal betting proceeds which are nothing but proceeds of crime have been remitted outside India. The promoters of the Mahadev online book have also set up mini-companies in Dubai to route money and also to facilitate Visa services to the staff of the Mahadev online book working there. It was also found that the present applicant who is the police authority in the State Police Service received the illegal amount of the proceeds of crime to pay protection money to the higher police authorities/bureaucrats and politicians for smooth running of their illegal betting app and to protect them from any legal action and the present applicant collected the money from Hawala operations to pay it to the higher 15 police authorities/bureaucrats and politicians. Considering the role played by the present applicant Chandrabhushan Verma in commission of offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002, he was arrested on 22.08.2023. The prosecution complaint has already been filed against the present application at Special Court, PMLA Raipur. It is further submitted by learned counsel for the respondent that the ED has identified the proceeds of crime and its realization by the betting syndicate. The proceeds in question were being generated by the Mahadev Online Book through various bogus/benami bank accounts. The illegal funds belonging to Mahadev Online Book is transferred through bogus/benami bank accounts which is the proceeds of crime as per Section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. From the material collected during the investigation, it has also been identified that the amount generated from Mahadev Online Book has been utilized in purchasing immovable properties, investing in the Indian share market, organizing star-studded events, payments of liaisoning money for smooth betting operations, investment in bitcoin USDT, acquiring business of competitors etc. *******There is every chance of the applicant seeking to defeat the process of law in India. There is every possibility of tempering with the witnesses and evidence of the case. Further relying upon the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Gurvinder Singh Vs. State of Punjab in the order dated 07.02.2024 passed in CRA No.704/2024 submitted that the trial proceeding of the case will take time and cannot be a ground to grant bail. He would further submit 16 that there is sufficient evidence against the present applicant which prima facie establishes his involvement in the offence in question and in view of the nature of the offence, the applicant is not entitled to grant of bail. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. For consideration of the bail application under PMLA, 2002 the Court need not go deep inside the merits of the case but should consider the prima facie material against the accused in the case. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary case (supra) has observed in para 401 of its judgment that:- “401. We are in agreement with the observation made by the Court in Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma [(2005) 5 SCC 294]. The Court while dealing with the application for grant of bail need not delve deep into the merits of the case and only a view of the Court based on available material on record is required. The Court will not weigh the evidence to find the guilt of the accused which is, of course, the work of Trial Court. The Court is only required to place its view based on probability on the basis of reasonable material collected during the investigation and the said view will not be taken into consideration by the Trial Court in recording its finding of the guilt or acquittal during trial which is based on the evidence adduced during the trial. As explained by this Court in Nimmagadda Prasad [(2013) 7 SCC 466], the words used in Section 45 of the 2002 Act are "reasonable grounds for believing" which means the Court has to see only if there is a genuine case against the accused and the prosecution is not required to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt.” 17 7. In the case of Satish Jaggi Vs. State of Chhattisgarh, (2007) 11 SCC 195, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that “at the stage of granting of bail, the Court can only go into the question of prima facie case established for granting bail, it cannot go into the question of credibility and reliability of witnesses put up by the prosecution. The question of credibility and reliability of prosecution witnesses can only be tested during trial.” 8. The Delhi High Court in its order dated 07.03.2024 passed in Bail Application No.3807/2022 (Sanjay Jain Vs. Enforcement Directorate) after relying upon the observations made in the case of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (Supra) has observed in para 49 that:- “49. It thus, emerges that at the stage of considering a bail application under the PMLA, the Court has to bear in mind the following aspects: i. Wether the accused possessed the requisite mens rea. ii. The words used in Section 45 of the 2002 Act are “reasonable grounds for believing” which means the Court has to see only if there is a genuine case against the accused and the prosecution is not required to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. Iii. A positive finding that the accused had not committed an offence under the Act is not required to be recorded. A delicate balance between a judgment of acquittal/conviction and an order granting bail much before commencement of the trial is to be maintained. iv. The evidence is not to be weighed meticulously but a finding is to be arrived at on the basis of broad probabilities with reference to the material collected during investigation. The 18 weighing of evidence to find the guilt of the accused is the work of Trial Court. v. A finding is also required to be recorded as to the possibility of the bail applicant committing a crime after grant of bail. This aspect has to be considered having regard to the antecedents of the accused, his propensities and the nature and manner in which he is alleged to have committed the offence.” 9. In the present case, from the material collected during the investigation, it reveals that the present applicant who was working as Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police has played role in providing protection money to higher police officers and politicians for smooth running of Mahadev Book App in the State of Chhattisgarh. He has become the link between the promoters of Mahadev Book, who are at Dubai and the powers to be in the Chhattisgarh. The said illegal money was regularly sent through Hawala operations from Dubai through Anil Dammani and Sunil Dammani to the present applicant for his own and to distribute amongst bureaucrats, higher police authorities and politicians. He himself has admitted his role in his statement. From the evidence collected during the investigation it also reveals that the present applicant is also associated with Jasiph, Ritesh, Bhim Singh, Arjun Yadav, Vijay Pandey, Prashant Tripathi and Sahadev Yadav, who used to collect the amount transferred by Ravi Uppal through Hawala and delivered it within the State of Chhattisgarh to various persons as aforesaid. The applicant being an police official of the State would be well aware of the betting operations undertaken through Mahadev Book are illegal and the funds made available to him by Ravi Uppal through Hawala are the 19 proceeds of crime. Despite that he willingly involved himself in money laundering activities. Further, the present applicant set up various firms either in the name of his family members or his relatives for the purposes to justify the bogus transactions through the said firms to launder the proceeds of crime acquired by him. It was also revealed that the present applicant has engaged in providing cash to various Rice Millers in lieu of bank entries of these firms without there being any actual transaction of food grains. It also reveals that in the financial year 2022-23, the bank account number 39642058577 run by M/s. Srijan Associates had received 6.7 Crores, the bank account number 39946378820 run by M/s. Aditya Trading Company had received Rs. 6.78 Crores approx in the bank account. 10. The criminal activity of opening bogus/benami bank accounts and utilizing them for illegal online betting therefore the illegal funds belonging to Mahadev Online Book being transferred through the bogus bank account is the proceeds of crime as defined under Section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. The digital record seized in the case and from the statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002 clearly establishes the link of the present applicant with the illegal betting website Sky Exchange and the generation of proceeds of crime through it. 11. The proceeds of crime have been defined under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, 2002 which reads as under:- “2.(1)(u) “proceeds of crime” means any property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence or the value of any such property, 20 or where such property is taken or held outside the country, then the property equivalent in value held within the country or abroad; Explanation :- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that “proceeds of crime” including property not only derived or obtained from the scheduled offence but also any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence.” 12. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Vs. CBI, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 439 has held in para 34 and 35 of its judgment that- “34. Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offences having deep- rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country. 35. While granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considerations. 13. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary (supra) has observed in para 398 as under :- “398. Thus, it is well settled by the various decisions of this Court and policy of the State as also the view of international community that the offence of money- laundering is committed by an individual with a 21 deliberate design with the motive to enhance his gains, disregarding the interests of nation and society as a whole and which by no stretch of imagination can be termed as offence of trivial nature. Thus, it is in the interest of the State that law enforcement agencies should be provided with a proportionate effective mechanism so as to deal with these types of offences as the wealth of the nation is to be safeguarded from these dreaded criminals. As discussed above, the conspiracy of money-laundering, which is a three- staged process, is hatched in secrecy and executed in darkness, thus, it becomes imperative for the State to frame such a stringent law, which not only punishes the offender proportionately, but also helps in preventing the offence and creating a deterrent effect.” 14. Having considered the rival submissions made by respective parties, as also from the material produced in the present case, it is not acceptable that the present applicant did not know about the transactions of Mahadev online book and the money obtained by him. Denial by the applicant itself is not sufficient to consider prima facie that there is no mens rea of the applicant for the said offence under the PMLA Act, 2002. Although the statements are required to be tested at the time of trial, but for the purpose of consideration of bail application, the statements and other documents as well as electronic evidence are relevant for consideration of bail application of the applicant. Though the co-accused Sunil Dammani and Bhim Singh Yadav have been granted bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court, but the allegation against the present applicant is different than the other accused persons, therefore, no benefit could be extended to the applicant by the same. 22 15. As has been discussed hereinabove, it cannot be said that there is no involvement of the applicant in the offence in question. Considering the role of the applicant in the ensuing money laundering case of proceeds of crime in Mahadev Book App, it is found that, there is sufficient evidence collected by the respondent- Enforcement Directorate to prima facie show the involvement of the applicant in the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002. It is an organized crime having various facets of its complexion, therefore, further considering the provisions of Section 45 of the PMLA, 2002 this Court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is involved in the offence and he is likely to commit any other offence while on bail, I am not inclined to grant bail to the applicant. 16. Consequently, the present bail application filed by the applicant- Chandrabhushan Verma is rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge ved