1 CGHC010352102026 2026:CGHC:41089 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 8404 of 2026 1 - Laxman Rao S/o Mahadev Rao, Aged About 45 Years, R/o Lalganj, Maihdibag, Bagroad, Nagpur-2 Panch Pawali, District Nagpur Maharashtra --- Applicant versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Ganj, Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh ---Non-applicant MCRC No. 8508 of 2026 1 - Vaibhav Khandewal S/o Rishi Khandelwal, Aged About 37 Years, R/o Bhawani Complex Flat No.303, Wadhoda Chowk, District- Nagpur, Maharashtra 2 - Ranjeet Kumar Paswan S/o Puddam Paswan, Aged About 36 Years, R/o Teda, P.S. Parshuram, District- Basti U.P. ---Applicants Versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through- Station House Officer, Police Station Ganj, Raipur, District- Raipur (C.G.) --- Non-applicant MCRC No. 8493 of 2026 1 - Aashish Jadhav S/o Gajanand Jadhav, Aged About 29 Years, R/o Village Munga, P.S. Akot, District Akola Maharashtra ---Applicant Versus 1 - State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station Ganj, Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh --- Non-applicant (Cause title taken from Case Information System) Digitally signed by MOHAMMED AADIL KHAN Date: 2026.09.23 11:12:14 +0530 2 For Applicants : Mr. C.R. Sahu and Ms. Khushbu Sahu, Advocates. For State : Mr. Atanu Ghosh, Deputy Govt. Advocate. Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J. Order on Board 21-09-2026 1. These are the first bail application of the applicants under Section 483 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred as “BNSS”). The applicants have been arrested on 17.04.2026 in connection with Crime No.110/2026, registered at Police Station Ganj, Raipur, District Raipur (C.G.) for the offence under Section 7 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022 and Sections 112(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. 2. The case of the prosecution is that on 13.04.2026, the police of Police Station Ganj, while patrolling, received secret information that a person is engaged in online gambling in a cricket match through mobile phones, and such person was present in his Honda City Car bearing No. CG04/NS/5007 at Nagorao Gali underbridge. The police conducted a raid and arrested co- accused Mandeep Singh, who was found in the said Honda City Car. On interrogation and search of Mandeep Singh, one mobile phone and cash amounting to Rs. 95,000/- were seized from him. In his memorandum statement, he disclosed that he was engaged in online cricket gambling through the betting app “3 Stumps” and that co-accused Babu Khemani was the owner of the said online book. Kamlesh Dewangan, who is the agent of Babu Khemani, collected the cash amount from the online gambling activities. He also disclosed that Karan Khemani, Brahmanand Khemani, Shrikant Sinha and Vijay Pinjwani, mobile Nos. 9893324707, 7044930036 and 7400930036, co-accused Amit Andani, mobile No. 9111555393, Harsh Nagdev, mobile No. 9526125220, Vinod Nara, mobile No. 9399898366, Akash, mobile No. 9826197555, and Rishikesh, mobile No. 9526125220, 3 were engaged in online gambling from Pune, Mumbai and Goa and were running betting panels for IPL cricket matches. From the mobile phones of co-accused Mandeep Singh, ID transactions from mobile Nos. 917777991972 and 917777991752, and from the mobile phone of Babu Khemani bearing No. 447782207749, ID transactions were reflected. Transactions between Kamlesh Dewangan through his mobile number to Karan Khemani, Brahmanand Khemani and Shrikant Sinha through their mobile numbers were also reflected. The involvement of the accused persons in online gambling in IPL cricket matches was extracted. Thereafter, the offence was registered and investigation was started. 3. During the investigation, the memorandum statement of Gulshan @ Babu Khemani was recorded, in which he disclosed the involvement of the present applicants and other co-accused persons, stating that they managed cash transactions in bank accounts. The accused Gulshan @ Babu Khemani also disclosed the manner in which they managed the affairs of online gambling, purchase of various properties at different places, and the involvement of other accused persons in their syndicate. The present applicants have been arrested on 17.04.2026 and their mobile phones have been seized, from which various screenshots have been extracted with respect to online gambling activities. After investigation the charge sheet has been filed on 10.06.2026. 4. Learned counsel appearing for the applicants would submit that the co- accused Mandeep Singh has been granted bail by the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated 25.08.2026 passed in SLP (Crl) No. 15660 of 2026. The other co-accused persons Gulshan @ Babu Khemani has also been released on bail by the Hon'ble Supreme Court vide order dated 01.09.2026, passed in SLP (Crl) No. 15905 of 2026. The case of the present applicants is better than the case of Mandeep Singh and Gulshan @ Babu Khemani, as 4 Mandeep Singh was arrested on the spot, but the present applicants have been arrested on the memorandum statement of the co-accused. The applicants are in jail since 17.04.2026, final adjudication of the case will take its own time. Therefore, these applicants may also be released on bail. 5. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the submissions made by learned counsel for the applicants, and has submitted that, the bail applications of other co-accused persons Fatte Singh Yadav (MCRC No. 5470 of 2026), Tulsi Das Namdev @ Price (MCRC No. 5582 of 2026), Shatrughan Kumar Komre (MCRC No. 5623 of 2026), Sandeep Israni (MCRC No. 5666 of 2026), Masnun Raja (MCRC No. 5710 of 2026), Shubham Sitlani (MCRC No. 5733 of 2026) and Sunny Dewangan (MCRC No. 5870 of 2026) have been rejected by this Court on 06.07.2026, therefore, the applicants are not entitled to be released on bail. 6. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 7. The material collected during investigation, including the memorandum statement of co-accused persons and the electronic data extracted from the mobile phones of the accused persons, prima facie indicates the involvement of the applicant in the alleged online gambling syndicate operating through the betting platform “3 Stumps”. The allegations against the applicants relate to management of cash and fund transactions connected with the online gambling activities. The material available in the case diary further indicates that the alleged network involved several accused persons, multiple bank accounts, mobile phones and electronic devices and was operating across different places, including Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa. The grant of bail to co-accused Mandeep Singh and Gulshan @ Babu Khemani by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, having regard to the specific role attributed to them and the material available against them, does not, in the facts of the present case, entitle the applicants to bail as a 5 matter of parity. Considering the nature and gravity of the allegations, the material collected during investigation and the role attributed to the applicants, this Court is not inclined to enlarge these applicants on bail. 8. Accordingly, all these bail applications, filed by the applicants Laxman Rao, Vaibhav Khandewal, Ranjeet Kumar Paswan and Aashish Jadhav, are hereby rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge Aadil