1 CGHC010275462026 2026:CGHC:34670 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRCA No. 1177 of 2026 Akash Agrawal S/o Shri Surajbhan Agrawal Aged About 41 Years R/o Ward No. 7 Shastri Nagar Jhilmila P.S. And Tahsil Saraipali District Mahasamund Chhattisgarh ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through S H O Sankra Mahasamund District. Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent (Cause title taken from Case Information System) For Applicant : Mr. Dheerendra Pandey, Advocate For Respondent/State : Mr. Avinash Singh, Govt. Advocate Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal Order on Board 06/08/2026 1. The present is an application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 seeking for grant of anticipatory bail to the applicant, who is apprehending his arrest in connection with Crime No. 106 of 2026, registered at Police Station Sankra, District Mahasamund (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Section 7(1) of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022. VED PRAKASH DEWANGAN Digitally signed by VED PRAKASH DEWANGAN Date: 2026.08.14 20:39:06 +0530 2 2. The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 29.05.2026, the police personnel of Police Station Sankra were on patrolling duty, they received a secret information that, Naresh Nishad resident of Bhagat Devri and Manohar Manjhi, resident of Nawagaon Tukda engaged in playing online gambling at the shop of Naresh Nishad at Bhagat Devri and betting in IPL Cricket match. When the police conducted raid there, they apprehended Naresh Nishad and Manohar Manjhi and from them their mobile phones have been seized. From their mobile phone, screenshots of various transactions with respect to online gambling were extracted including the screenshots of UPI transactions. Their memorandum statement were recorded and they disclosed about other persons, who were also engaged in online gambling with them and disclosed the name of Bholu @ Swaroop, mobile No. 9926111413 and whatsapp No. 7878671762, Akash Agrawal, mobile No. 8839013800, Raja Bagga, mobile No. 9977032007, Arif Dhanani, mobile No. 9109024490 and the operator of online gambling network having mobile No. 9926532594 and 7509221732. The co-accused Madhusudan Thakre has disclosed in his memorandum statement that, these two mobile numbers i.e. 9926532594 and 7509221732 have been purchased by him in the name of his relatives and the players bet their offer through online App and their offer was recorded in their laptops in the name of Shubh- Labh software. He also disclosed the manner in which they managed the entire transactions of online gambling and money circulation. Some of the accused persons have been arrested and the present applicant is also apprehending his arrest in the aforesaid offence and filed the present anticipatory bail application. 3 3. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant would submit that, there is no material available on record to establish the involvement of the present applicant in the alleged online gambling activities along with the other accused persons. He would contend that, except for the memorandum statements of the co-accused persons, there is no independent or legally admissible evidence against the applicant. It is further submitted that the applicant is running a mobile phone shop and only on apprehension, he has been involved in the offence. There is general and omnibus allegations against the applicant regarding his alleged involvement in the online gambling syndicate. There is also no Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report or Cyber Forensic Expert's report establishing any electronic link between the applicant and the other accused persons or the alleged betting activities. He would further submit that there are 8 accused persons, out of which 3 accused persons have been granted regular bail by the learned trial Court. Only one criminal antecedent is there against the applicant, which is pending consideration before the learned trial Court. The maximum sentence for the alleged offence has been provided for imprisonment of 3 years. The applicant is having good reputation in the community and in the locality and is the breadwinner of his family. Therefore he may be enlarged on anticipatory bail. 4. Per contra, learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the submissions advanced on behalf of the applicant and would submit that, the allegations against the present applicant are grave and serious in nature. It is submitted that, during the course of investigation, the memorandum statement of co-accused Naresh 4 Nishad, Madhusudan Thakre, Manohar Manjhi have been recorded, in which they statutory disclosed the involvement of the present applicant in their syndicate of online gambling. There is number of screenshots and banking transactions extracted from mobile phones of the accused persons, which clearly demonstrated their huge network of online gambling. The accused persons used the betting App in the short form like; ‘JMR’, ‘JMD’, ‘JMK’, etc. and the present applicant is engaged through ‘JMD’ betting ID and there are sufficient evidence available in the case diary, in which screenshots of the mobile phones have been annexed which shows the involvement of the said ID of JMD in online gambling. The applicant is having a criminal antecedent of similar nature of offence bearing Crime No. 197 of 2025, registered at police station Pithora. Looking to the gravity of the offence, the network of online gambling and their syndicate and also in view of the evidence available in the case diary, the applicant is not entitled for grant of anticipatory bail. The other accused persons have been released on regular bail and custodial interrogation from the present applicant is required. Therefore, his anticipatory bail application may be dismissed. 5. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 6. Having heard learned counsel for the parties and upon perusal of the case diary, this Court finds that the allegations against the present applicant cannot, at this stage, be said to be merely general or omnibus in nature. The case diary contains the memorandum statements of co-accused persons, namely, Naresh Nishad, 5 Madhusudan Thakre and Manohar Manjhi, disclosing the involvement of the present applicant in the online gambling syndicate, coupled with screenshots and banking/UPI transactions extracted from the mobile phones of the accused persons. It is also alleged that the betting activities were being carried out through different abbreviated betting IDs, including ‘JMD’, and the material collected during investigation prima facie indicates the involvement of the present applicant through the said ID. The allegation further relates to an organised network of online gambling and circulation of money, which requires proper investigation, including custodial interrogation of the applicant. The applicant is also stated to have a criminal antecedent of similar nature registered as Crime No. 197 of 2025 at Police Station Pithora. Merely because some of the co-accused have been granted regular bail cannot, in the facts and circumstances of the present case, be a ground for extending the same benefit to the applicant, particularly when the nature of the allegations and the material collected during investigation stand on a different footing. Having regard to the gravity and nature of the allegations, the material available in the case diary, the alleged organised nature of the online gambling network and the requirement of custodial interrogation, this Court is not inclined to grant the benefit of anticipatory bail to the applicant. 7. Accordingly, the present anticipatory bail application of the applicant Akash Agrawal is rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge ved