Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010122372026 2026:GAU-AS:9181 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./1615/2026 BHARAT KUMAR SONI @ BHARAT SONI @ AJAY SONI SON OF LATE SATYANARAYAN SONI, RESIDENT OF HOUSE NO. 27A, S.C. BYELANE, ATHGAON, P.S. BHARALUMUKH, GUWAHATI, DISTRICT KAMRUP (METRO), ASSAM. VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE PP, ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A CHAUDHURY, MR. D BORA,MR. N MAHAJAN,MR. P K DAS Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, :: BEFORE :: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PARTHIVJYOTI SAIKIA O R D E R 24.06.2026 Heard Mr. B.K. Mahajan, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. Bhaskar Sarma, the Addl. Public Prosecutor, Assam. 2. This is an application under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023 whereby the petitioner Bharat Kumar Soni @ Bharat Soni @ Ajay Soni has prayed for releasing him Page No.# 2/4 on bail after he was arrested in connection with Panbazar P.S. Case No.106/2026 under Sections 351(2)/61/3(5)/111 and 112 of BNS, 2023 read with Section 13/14/15/16/18/19/20 of Assam Game and Betting Act, 1970 read with Section 25(1B) (a) of the Arms Act along with Section 9(1)/9(3) of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 read Section 7(C)(2)/12 of Assam Money Lenders Act, 2022. 3. On 31.05.2026, police received an information that the person called Alok Jain was indulging in illegal IPL betting and gambling activities from his residence situated at Fancy Bazar at Guwahati. A police team went there. Alok Jain was found with Sunil Bhakar, Basant Kumar and Satto Ram. Police found that they were indulging in gambling activities for the ongoing final match. Police recovered several items like- a Samsung Tablet, 16 numbers of mobile phones of different brands, many bank passbooks and a cash amount of ₹80,000/- and a .32 Bore Pistol with a magazine and 40 rounds of live ammunitions etc. 4. Police also discovered that some other persons namely- Kamal Upadhyaya, Bikas Gupta, Amit Kumar Jha and Lal Saheb were also involved in the said gambling activities. 5. During investigation it was found that Alok Jain had deposited money earned from the gambling activities into the bank accounts of the present petitioner. Therefore, the petitioner was arrested by police. 6. The present petitioner is a jeweller by profession and he is the owner of a jewellery shop. The petitioner Ajay Soni has claimed that he used to sell gold and silver to Alok Jain and for that matter, he received money from Alok Jain. The petitioner submits that he has nothing to do with the gambling activities with Alok Jain. 7. The petitioner has produced different tax invoices showing sale of gold and silver including gold bars to Alok Jain. 8. Mr. Mahajan has submitted that Alok Jain used to deliver the price of gold and Page No.# 3/4 silver purchased from the petitioner by bank transfer. According to Mr. Mahajan, if the petitioner had received illegal money in his bank account from Alok Jain, the petitioner would have to pay GST and other taxes. Mr. Mahajan pointed out that the petitioner would never pay GST and other taxes for the gambling money. 9. According to Mr. Mahajan, the seizure of the articles was made on 07.06.2026 at about 2.42 P.M. and he was arrested on 08.06.2026 at about 9.24 A.M. Mr. Mahajan has submitted that actually the petitioner was arrested on 07.06.2026 at about 6.42 P.M. It goes to show that he was produced in the court beyond 24 hours and it is a violation of Article 22(2) of the Constitution of India. Mr. Mahajan has further submitted that according to the ratio laid down in Directorate of Enforcement v. Subhash Sarma, reported in 2025 SCC OnLine SC 240, the aforesaid fact entitles the petitioner to be released on bail. 10. Per contra, Mr. Bhaskar Sarma has submitted that the aforementioned Alok Jain used to convert the money earned from gambling into gold and that is why money was deposited in the bank account of the present petitioner. Mr. Sarma has submitted that the case is in a nascent stage of investigation and the investigating agency should be given some more time. 11. I have given anxious considerations to the submissions made by the learned counsels of both sides. 12. Alok Jain purchased gold and silver from the present petitioner and this is clear from the documents available in the record. Alok Jain might have converted his ill gotten money into gold. But that does not mean that the present petitioner had aided Alok Jain in his illegal activities. There is no doubt that the present petitioner is a jeweller involved in selling gold and silver. Selling gold by the petitioner to Alok Jain is not an offence. Any jeweller would do that if he gets money from the buyer. 13. I have gone through the Case Diary also. 14. According to the police investigating officer, money was remitted to the bank Page No.# 4/4 account of the present petitioner through different banks. The investigating officer also referred to some whatsapp chats with Alok Jain and the present petitioner. 15. After giving anxious considerations to the aforesaid facts, this Court finds that the present petitioner has sold gold bars and gold ornaments to Alok Jain after taking money. This Court is of the opinion that selling gold bars and gold ornaments to Alok Jain cannot justify detention of the petitioner in custody in the light of the illegal activities of Alok Jain. Alok Jain must have converted his ill gotten money into gold. But the documents available with the record shows that the petitioner had sold gold to Alok Jain after receiving money. 16. Under the aforesaid circumstances, this court is of the opinion that the petitioner Bharat Kumar Soni @ Bharat Soni @ Ajay Soni does not deserve to be detained in custody for any longer period of time. His bail application is allowed. 17. The petitioner Bharat Kumar Soni @ Bharat Soni @ Ajay Soni who was arrested in connection with Panbazar P.S. Case No.106/2026, shall be released on bail of ₹50,000/- with a surety of like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup(M) at Guwahati. Case Diary shall be returned. JUDGE Comparing Assistant