1 2026:CGHC:25249 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 4058 of 2026 1 - Prakashchand Miri S/o 1t. Chatram Miri Aged About 33 Years Village - Kushmul, Thana - Dabhra, Dist -Janjgir Champa, C.G. --- Applicant(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station - New Rajendra Nagar, District - Raipur (C.G.) --- Non-applicant(s) MCRC No. 4671 of 2026 1 - Saket Jagwani S/o Rajkumar Jagwani Aged About 26 Years R/o Juna Bilaspur Behind Shyam Talkies P.S. City Kotwali Tehsil And District Raipur C.G.(As Per Order) ---Applicant(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer P.S. New Rajendra Nagar Raipur District Raipur C.G. --- Non-applicant(s) MCRC No. 4565 of 2026 1 - Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav S/o Late Shyam Sunder Vaishnav Aged About 32 Years R/o Gokul Dham, Amlidih Thana New Rajendra Nagar, Raipur (C.G.) Permanent Add. Vill. Tuman, Thana Urga Tehsil And District- Korba (C.G.) 2 - Pramod Kumar Orke S/o Ramayan Singh Orke Aged About 21 Years R/o Village Ranjana, Thana Dipika Tehsil And District- Korba (C.G.) ---Applicant(s) ALOK SHARMA Digitally signed by ALOK SHARMA Date: 2026.06.25 13:23:47 +0530 2 Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station New Rajendra Nagar, District- Raipur (C.G.) --- Non-applicant(s) For Applicant(s) : Mr. Anchala Rathore, Advocate (MCRC No. 4058/2026 and MCRC No. 4565/2026) Mr. Santosh Kumar Pandey, (MCRC No. 4671/2026) For Non-applicant(s) : Mr. Vikhyat Arora, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J. Order on Board 19/06/2026 1. These three bail applications are arising out of the same crime number; therefore, they are being heard and decided together. 2. The MCRC No. 4058/2026 has been filed by the applicant, Prakashchand Miri, who has been arrested on 28.02.2026. MCRC No. 4565/2026 has been filed by Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav and Pramod Kumar Orke, who have been arrested on 28.02.2026, and MCRC No. 4671/2026 has been filed by Saket Jagwani, who has also been arrested on 28.02.2026. 3. All these bail applications are the first bail applications filed by the respective applicants, who have been arrested in connection with Crime No. 89/2026 registered at Police Station New Rajendra Nagar, District Raipur (C.G.), for the offences punishable under Section 7 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling Prohibition Act, 2022 and Section 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. 3 4. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the police of Police Station New Rajendra Nagar, Raipur, while on patrolling duty, received secret information on 25.02.2026 that two persons travelling in a white Baleno car bearing registration No. CG 12 BM 9660 were engaged in online gambling on the 2020 Cricket World Cup match. On the basis of the said information, the police reached the suspected place and found two persons sitting in the said car, who disclosed their names as Shaiky Darda and Prateek Kumar Vadhwani. On being interrogated, they admitted their involvement in online gambling. From accused Shaiky Darda, 8 mobile phones, 4 passbooks, 12 ATM cards, and cash amounting to Rs. 14,100/- were seized. From accused Prateek Kumar Vadhwani, three mobile phones and cash amounting to Rs. 10,500/- were seized. From the mobile phones of the accused persons, betting platforms namely 23exch9.com, all panel exch.app, and 99.com were found, and records of online gambling were recovered. Thereafter, printouts of the screenshots were taken. The accused persons, in their memorandum statements, disclosed the involvement of other accused persons, namely, Surya (Mobile No. 9193660415), Dhananjay Vaishnav (Mobile No. 447700103039), Kuldeep (Mobile No. 7718064937), Bhola (Mobile No. 9202491359), Shubham (Mobile No. 7569305092), Pramod (Mobile No. 9302977679), Prakash Chand Giri (Mobile No. 9752809455), and Shankar (Mobile No. 8420928266). They also disclosed that all the accused persons were engaged in the aforesaid betting platforms and, for the payment gateway, they used the WhatsApp groups namely "JMK DP" and "Jaidev DP". They further disclosed that their associates were running online gambling operations from Goa. During the investigation, it was also found that 4 various bank accounts in the names of different persons were linked to the mobile number of accused Shaiky Darda, and the mobile phones of the other accused persons were also connected with bank accounts of various persons. Thereafter, the FIR was registered and, after investigation, a charge-sheet was filed against seven accused persons, including the present applicants, Prakashchand Miri, Saket Jagwani, and Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav. From the applicant Prakashchand Miri, one mobile phone was seized. From the applicant Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav, one laptop, one electronic notebook (tab), 16 mobile phones, and one wi-fi router have been seized. From the accused Saket Jagwani, two laptops, 17 mobile phones, and one Wi- Fi router have been seized. 5. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant- Prakashchand Miri in MCRC No. 4058/2026, and for the applicants, Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav and Pramod Kumar Orke in MCRC No. 4565/2026, would submit that there is no material evidence available in the charge-sheet against the applicants. Except for the memorandum statement of co- accused Shainky Darda, there is no admissible evidence against the applicants to show that they were also involved in online gambling along with the other co-accused persons. The electronic evidence allegedly collected by the police is inadmissible in evidence. Though various mobile phones and bank accounts have been recovered by the police from Shainky Darda, there is no evidence that the present applicants were also involved in money transactions through the said bank accounts or were actively engaged in online gambling with them. There is no evidence extracted from the mobile phones of the 5 applicants showing their involvement in any syndicate with the other co-accused persons or that they were involved in online gambling. The investigation has been completed and the charge-sheet has been filed. The applicants are in jail since 28.02.2026, and the final adjudication of the case will take its own time, therefore, they may be enlarged on bail. 6. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant- Saket Jagwani, in MCRC No. 4671/2026 also submits that, except for the memorandum statement of the co-accused, no other evidence is available in the charge-sheet to implicate him in the offence in question. Even from the mobile phone of the applicant, nothing could be extracted to connect him with the offence. In the Cyber Cell report extracted from the mobile phone of the applicant, no incriminating fact has been discovered. There are no bank account details of the applicant with respect to the transaction of money allegedly obtained from online gambling. Even from the mobile phones of co-accused Shainky Darda or Prateek Kumar Vadhwani, no material could be extracted by the police to show that the present applicant was also involved in the syndicate of the other co-accused persons in online gambling. The evidence collected by the police during the investigation is electronic evidence, which is inadmissible in evidence, and there is no possibility of conviction based on such evidence. The applicant is in jail since 28.02.2026. The investigation has been completed and the charge-sheet has been filed, and no custodial interrogation is required. The case is triable by the Judicial Magistrate First Class. There is no criminal antecedent of the applicant; therefore, he may be enlarged on bail. 6 7. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State opposes the submissions made by learned counsel for the respective applicants and submits that initially accused Shainky Darda and Prateek Kumar Vadhwani were arrested, who were actively engaged in online gambling. On the basis of their memorandum statements and the material extracted from their mobile phones and screenshots, the present applicants were arrested. From the mobile phones of the accused persons, sufficient evidence has been collected with respect to their connection through the bank accounts of numerous persons, which itself demonstrates that the accused persons formed a syndicate for online gambling and were actively involved in it. The screenshots from the mobile phones of the accused persons, the contents of the screenshots, the bank account transaction details, and the other material collected during the investigation are sufficient to prima facie show that the present applicants were also involved in online gambling. It is a huge network formed by the accused persons, and to run the said network, they used numerous mobile phones, bank accounts, and ATM cards, which were interlinked with the mobile phones of the accused persons. Therefore, there is sufficient prima facie material against the applicants, and they are not entitled to bail. 8. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material annexed with the bail application. 9. Considering the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, considering the nature of the allegations against the present applicants, considering the role of the applicants, the seizure of various mobile phones, ATM cards, and passbooks from the accused 7 persons, and that the mobile numbers are interlinked with the bank accounts of various persons through which transactions are being made with respect to online gambling, and considering the material available in the charge-sheet against the present applicants and the screenshots from the mobile phones, further considering that from the applicant Prakash Chand Miri, one mobile phone has been seized, from the applicant Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav, one laptop, one electronic notebook (tab), 16 mobile phones, and one router have been seized; and from the accused Saket Jagwani, two laptops, 17 mobile phones, and one Wi-Fi router have been seized, I am, therefore, not inclined to release the applicants on bail. Online gambling is an organized crime having various facets and a significant impact on the economy of the country. In view of the gravity of the offence and the manner in which the applicants are involved in the alleged offence, they are not entitled to be released on bail. 10. Accordingly, the first bail applications of the applicants, namely Prakashchand Miri (MCRC No. 4058 of 2026), Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav and Pramod Kumar Orke (MCRC No. 4565 of 2026), and Saket Jagwani (MCRC No. 4671 of 2026), are hereby rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge Alok