1 2026:CGHC:22147 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 4091 of 2026 1 - Manish Aasrani S/o Sunder Das Asrani Aged About 44 Years R/o - Manjhapara Kanker, District- North Basatr Kanker C.G. At Present Resident Of New -Rajendra Nagar- Raipur District- Raipur C.G. ... Applicant(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through -Station House Officer, Police Station -Civil Line Raipur -District -Raipur C.G. ... Non-applicant(s) For Applicant(s) : Mr. Goutam Khetrapal, Advocate. For Non-applicant(s) : Mr. Vinod Tekam, Govt. Advocate and Mr. Ashutosh Trivedi, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J. Order on Board 11/05/2026 1. The present is the second bail application filed by the applicant. The first bail application of the applicant was dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 06.04.2026 (wrongly typed as 06.04.2025) passed in MCRC No. 2771 of 2026. The applicant, who has been arrested on 19.02.2026 in connection with Crime No. 71/2026 registered at Police Station Civil Line, Raipur, District Raipur for the offences punishable under Sections 7 and 8 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling Prohibition Act, Digitally signed by ALOK SHARMA Date: 2026.05.21 11:35:04 +0530 2 2022, is seeking regular bail. 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 05.02.2026, the police of Police Station Civil Line, Raipur, while on patrolling duty, received secret information that a person is engaged in online gambling through a mobile phone near Surya Apartment, Katora Talab, Raipur. Acting upon the said information, a raid was conducted and co-accused Arun Kumar Yadav was arrested. During interrogation, he disclosed that the present applicant, Manish Aasrani, resident of Kanker, had provided him the IDs of “Bet Only 777.com” and “Ganpati Book”, and one Neeraj Ranglani had provided the ID of “All Panel 777 Now”, through which online gambling activities were being carried out. From co-accused Arun Kumar Yadav, one mobile phone and cash amounting to Rs. 25,000/- were seized. Thereafter, the offence was registered and during investigation the present applicant was arrested. During interrogation, the applicant disclosed that he, along with other co- accused persons, was engaged in online gambling activities and that he had provided the ID of “Bet Only 777.com” to Arun Kumar Yadav. He further disclosed that he used to pay Rs. 30,000/- to him for operating the online gambling activities and had also provided his own mobile number 7869213019 for operating WhatsApp in relation thereto. He also disclosed a money transaction of Rs. 3,000/- made on 29.01.2026. After completion of investigation, charge-sheet has been filed. From the possession of the present applicant, one mobile phone bearing mobile number 9959681080 was seized, in which a betting application logged in under the name “Power Exchange”, having login ID “PW60MJ” and password “manish12”, was found. Further, from the gallery of the said mobile phone, details regarding transfer of Rs. 3 3,000/- by Sandeep Yadav on 21.01.2026 were also found. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant submits that except the memorandum statement of co-accused Arun Kumar Yadav and the memorandum statement of the applicant himself, no any incriminating material has been collected by the prosecution to connect the present applicant with the offence in question. It is further submitted that no bank details regarding the alleged money transactions between the applicant and the co-accused persons have been collected by the police. He further submits that no cyber report has been obtained to establish the involvement of the applicant in online gambling activities. According to him, the applicant is not connected with the alleged offence and the alleged mobile transactions, being electronic evidence, are not sufficient to implicate him in the present case. He also submits that co-accused Arun Kumar Yadav has already been released on bail by the learned trial Court. The applicant is in custody since 19.02.2026, investigation has already been completed and no further custodial interrogation is required. The trial of the case will take its own time, therefore, the applicant may be enlarged on bail. 4. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the submissions made by learned counsel for the applicant and submits that material extracted from the mobile phone of the applicant clearly reveals the presence of IDs relating to “Bet Only 777.com” and details of money transactions. It is further submitted that an amount of Rs. 3,000/- was transferred to the PhonePe account of the applicant on 21.01.2026 in connection with betting activities. The material collected during investigation prima facie reveals that the applicant was actively 4 involved in online gambling through mobile phones along with the co- accused persons by providing IDs and passwords. 5. He further submits that the applicant has seven criminal antecedents, out of which five relates to offences under the Gambling Prohibition Act. The bank statement of the applicant also reflects money transactions connected with online gambling activities. The statements of Safir Ahmad and Pankaj Chelak also reveal the involvement of the present applicant in the offence in question. Therefore, it is submitted that sufficient prima facie material is available against the applicant and he is not entitled to be released on bail. 6. At this stage, learned counsel for the applicant submits that though the applicant is having antecedents, in the offences registered in the years 2007 and 2011, he was not made an accused. In another case of the year 2011 and in the cases of 2018 and 2019, the applicant has already been acquitted, whereas in the case of the year 2022, the matter was disposed of and fine has been imposed. It is further submitted that the offence registered in the year 2024 which relates to Section 420 IPC, whereas the offence of the year 2026 relates to Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the BNS, 2023, and two other cases registered under the Gambling Prohibition Act, 2022 are pending before the learned trial Court at Kanker. It is argued that criminal antecedents alone cannot be made the sole ground for rejection of bail. 7. I have heard learned counsel for the parties, perused the material annexed with the bail application and also gone through the case diary. 8. Having considered the rival submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties, the material available in the case diary, the allegations 5 that the applicant was engaged in online gambling along with co- accused persons by providing IDs of “Bet Only 777.com” and “Ganpati Book”, the evidence regarding money transactions through the PhonePe account of the applicant, and the criminal antecedents of the applicant, this Court is not inclined to release the applicant on bail. Online gambling is an organized crime having various facets and adversely affecting the economy of the country. It is a syndicate offence committed by the accused persons through online mode, and the role played by each of the accused persons is relevant for considering their involvement. In the present case, there is sufficient material against the present applicant to indicate that he was engaged in online gambling along with the other co-accused persons. 9. Accordingly, the second bail application filed by the applicant, namely Manish Aasrani, is hereby rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge Alok