1 CGHC010261102026 2026:CGHC:30809 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 6114 of 2026 1 - Kapoorchand Verma S/o Ramdayal Verma Aged About 31 Years Resident Of Village Baiharsari, Police Chowki Pondi, Police Station Bodla, District Kabirdham (C.G.) --- Applicant(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House Officer, Police Of Police Chowki Pondi, Police Station Bodla, District Kabirdham (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) MCRC No. 6117 of 2026 1 - Rakesh @ Raku Verma S/o Jaijairam Aged About 23 Years R/o Village Baiharsari, Police Chowki Pondi, Police Station Bodla, Distt. Kabirdham, Chhattisgarh. ---Applciant(s) Versus 2 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House Officer, Police Of Police Chowki Pondi, Police Station Bodla, Distt. Kabirdham, Chhattisgarh. --- Respondent(s) For Petitioner(s) : Mr.Ragahavendra Pradhan, Advocate For Respondent/State : Mr. Ghanshyam Kashyap,Dy.GA (Hon’ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Order on Board 20/07/2026 The present are the first bail applications preferred by the applicants under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of bail. The applicants, namely, Kapoorchand Verma and Rakesh @ Raku Verma, were arrested on 09.06.2026 in connection with Crime No. 57/2026, registered at Police Station Bodla, Outpost Pondi, District Kabirdham, for the offences punishable under Sections 6 and 7 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling Prohibition Act, 2022. 2. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 24.05.2026, the police of Police Station Bodla, Outpost Pondi, received secret information that co-accused Raghuveer was engaged in online gambling through his mobile phone near his agricultural field situated at Village Baihar Sherif. Acting upon the said information, the police conducted a raid and apprehended the co-accused. Upon examination of his mobile phone, chats pertaining to online cricket betting were allegedly recovered. SUGUNA DUBEY Digitally signed by SUGUNA DUBEY Date: 2026.07.22 11:03:25 +0530 3 During interrogation, the co-accused disclosed that the present applicant Kapoorchand Verma had provided the betting ID bearing KPR-8807 for facilitating online gambling and that several monetary transactions relating to the gambling activities had been routed through the mobile phone and bank account linked to applicant Rakesh Verma, bearing mobile No. 6267757221. Consequently, the FIR was registered, the applicants were arrested, and upon completion of the investigation, the charge-sheet has been filed. 3. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that the applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the present case. It is contended that, except for the memorandum statement of the co- accused Raghuveer, there is no independent material available in the charge-sheet connecting the applicants with the alleged offence. It is further submitted that no cyber forensic report pertaining to the applicants' mobile phones has been collected to establish their involvement in the alleged online gambling activities or their connection with the co-accused. It is also argued that no transaction details have been collected by the prosecution to prima facie establish that the alleged gambling proceeds were transferred to the bank account of applicant Rakesh Verma. 4. It is further submitted that although applicant Rakesh Verma had one criminal antecedent under Sections 294, 451, 506 and 34 of the IPC, he has already been acquitted in the said case. So far as applicant Kapoorchand Verma is concerned, the alleged antecedents relate only to offences under Sections 6 and 7 of the Chhattisgarh 4 Gambling Prohibition Act, which are punishable with a maximum sentence of three years and are triable by the Judicial Magistrate First Class. Learned counsel submits that the applicants have been in judicial custody since 09.06.2026, the investigation has been completed, the charge-sheet has already been filed, no further custodial interrogation is required, and the conclusion of the trial is likely to take considerable time. Therefore, it is prayed that the applicants be enlarged on bail. 5. Per contra, learned State counsel opposes the bail applications and submits that upon the apprehension of co-accused Raghuveer, incriminating chats relating to online cricket betting were recovered from his mobile phone, and it was on the basis of the information furnished by him that the present applicants were arrested. It is submitted that the co-accused specifically disclosed that the betting ID KPR-8807 had been provided by applicant Kapoorchand Verma, through which online gambling activities were carried out, and that the monetary transactions relating thereto were routed through the bank account of applicant Rakesh Verma by means of PhonePe. It is further submitted that applicant Kapoorchand Verma has four criminal antecedents, out of which three pertain to offences of a similar nature, and another offence registered as Crime No. 83/2017 also relates to similar allegations, in addition to preventive proceedings initiated against him. It is, therefore, contended that sufficient prima facie material exists against the applicants to establish their involvement in the organized online gambling activities, and consequently, they do not 5 deserve the discretionary relief of bail. 6. I have heard learned counsel appearing for the respective parties and perused the case diary as well as the material available on record. 7. Having considered the rival submissions, the nature and gravity of the allegations, and the material collected during the course of investigation, particularly the material available in the case diary indicating that applicant Kapoorchand Verma allegedly provided the betting ID KPR-8807 and that the monetary transactions were carried out through the bank account and PhonePe account linked to applicant Rakesh Verma, coupled with the gravity of the offence and the organized nature of the alleged online gambling syndicate, I am not inclined to extend the benefit of bail to the applicants at this stage. Accordingly, the present bail applications are rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge