Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010140662026 2026:GAU-AS:10022 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./1891/2026 BASANT KUMAR AND 2 ORS. SON OF BHAGIRATH RAM, RESIDENT OF CHAPAR, P.S. CHAPAR, DISTRICT CHURU, RAJASTHAN. 2: SUNIL BHAKAR SON OF SRI TILAK RAM BHAKAR RESIDENT OF LOSAL P.S. SIKAR DISTRICT SIKAR RAJASTHAN. 3: SATTO RAM SON OF LATE DUKKHI RAM RESIDENT OF UCHTI P.S. BIRAUL DISTRICT DARBHANGA BIHAR VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE PP, ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A CHAUDHURY, MR. D BORA,MR. N MAHAJAN,MR. P K DAS Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, Page No.# 2/4 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANJAN MONI KALITA ORDER Date : 22.07.2026 Heard Mr. B.K. Mahajan, the learned counsel appearing for the accused applicants. Also heard Mr. B. Sharma, the learned Addl. P.P., representing the State. 2. This is an application filed under Section 483 of BNSS praying for granting bail to the accused applicants in connection with Panbazar Police Station Case No. 106/2026, registered under Sections 351(2)/61/3(5)/111 of the BNS 2023, read with Sections 13/14/15/16/18/19/20 of Assam Game and Betting Act, 1970, read with Section 25(1B)(a) of Arms Act, added Section 9(1)/9(3) of Prohibition and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, read with Section 7(C)(2)/12 of Assam Money Lenders Act, 2022, read with Section 112 of BNS Act, 2023. 3. The prosecution case in brief is that on 31.05.2026, on receipt of credible source information and upon due authorization, a police team conducted a search at the residential premises of the main accused Alok Jain at House No. 57, Karuna Apartment, 1st Floor, Fancy Bazar, Guwahati, wherefrom an organized illegal IPL betting and gambling racket was being run. Alok Jain, the kingpin of the said betting and gambling racket, was apprehended at the spot along with his associates while live betting on IPL final match was actually in progress and betting records, gambling paraphernalia, electronic devices, financial documents, cash, 41 nos. of bank passbooks, multiple ATM/debit cards and a .32 bore pistol with 40 rounds of live ammunition were recovered and seized. The accused applicants herein, namely, Kamal Kumar Upadhyay, Bikash Gupta, Amit Kumar Jha, and Lal Saheb Mahato alias Lal Singh, are the close associates of kingpin Alok Jain and active members of the said organized betting syndicate, who were present at the said premises engaged in the betting operation and absconded from the spot upon arrival of the police team Page No.# 3/4 and were apprehended only after sustained efforts and follow-up investigation. 4. On receipt of the FIR, police registered Panbazar Police Station Case No. 106/2026 under the aforementioned sections. 5. Mr. B.K. Mahajan, learned counsel appearing for the accused-applicants submits that the accused-applicant no. 1 is working as a driver, accused-applicant no. 2 is working as a house helper and the accused-applicant no. 3 is working as a cook in the house of one of the arrested co-accused, namely, Alok Jain. He submits that, in the aforesaid capacities, they have been earning their livelihood without any complaint whatsoever from any corner. He submits that the accused-applicants were arrested only because they were working with Alok Jain and their involvement in the alleged offence, as narrated in the FIR, have not been made out by the police. He further submits that though they have been named in the FIR and found present in the premises of the aforesaid Alok Jain, no incriminatory materials of their involvement in the offence alleged could be found by the police in the instant case. In view of the aforesaid, the learned counsel submits that since they have already spent more than 50 days behind the bars and they have been arrested only because of their presence in the place of occurrence wherein they work for the co-accused Mr. Alok Jain, the accused-applicants should be granted bail at this stage. 6. Mr. B. Sharma, the learned Addl. P.P., however, opposed the bail prayer, submitting that those three accused-applicants have been arrested from the place of occurrence and the investigation in the instant case is yet to be over and therefore, their custodial detention is required in the instant case. 7. This court has heard the submissions made by the counsel appearing for the respective parties and has also perused the case diary that has been produced before this court. Page No.# 4/4 8. On perusal of the case diary and materials available therein, this court is of the considered opinion that further custodial detention of the accused-applicants may not be required in the instant case, taking into account their status as a driver, house helper and a cook in the premises of the accused, namely Alok Jain. Accordingly, the accused-applicants should be granted bail at this stage. 9. Therefore, it is directed that the accused-applicants shall be released on bail on furnishing of bail bond of Rs. 30,000/- (Thirty Thousand) each with a surety of like nature to the satisfaction of the SDJM No. 2, Kamrup (M), subject to the following conditions:- 1. That the accused applicants shall fully cooperate with the investigation and make themselves available as and when called for by the Investigating Officer (I.O.); 2. That the accused applicants shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Court or police. 10. In terms of the aforesaid direction, the instant bail application is disposed of as allowed. JUDGE Comparing Assistant