1 - Amit Agrawal S/o Late Ramesh Agrawal Aged About 36 Years R/o Ganja v. 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer Chakradharnagar, District Raigarh
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:30600 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 3813 of 2025 1 - Amit Agrawal S/o Late Ramesh Agrawal Aged About 36 Years R/o Ganja Chowk Raigarh, District Raigarh (C.G.) --- Applicant(s) versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer Chakradharnagar, District Raigarh (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) (Cause title taken from Case Information System) For Applicant(s)
Legal Reasoning
: Mr. Sanjay Agrawal, Advocate For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Akhilesh Kumar, G.A. MCRC No. 4055 of 2025 1 - Ankit Bani S/o Kali Charan Bani Aged About 28 Years Occupation- Labourer, R/o Ganja Chowk Bahidarpara, Raigarh District- Raigarh (C.G.) 2 - Bharat Kumar Rohila S/o Late Suresh Rohila Aged About 40 Years Occupation - Labourer, R/o Hatri Chowk, Danipara, Police Station City Kotwali, District- Raigarh (C.G.) ---Applicant(s) Versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through - Station House Officer, Police Station - Chakradhar Nagar, Raigarh, District- Raigarh (C.G.) --- Respondent(s) (Cause title taken from Case Information System) VEDPRAKASH DEWANGAN Digitally signed by VEDPRAKASH DEWANGAN Date: 2025.07.05 11:42:31 +0530 2 For Applicant(s) : Mr. Ashish Gupta, Advocate For Respondent(s)/State : Mr. Akhilesh Kumar, G.A. Hon'ble Shri Justice R avindra Kumar Agrawal 03/07/2025 Order on Board 1. These are the first bail applications filed by the respective applicants under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail. The applicants have been arrested in connection with Crime No. 169 of 2025, registered at Police Station Chakradharnagar, Raigarh, District Raigarh (C.G.) for the offence under Sections 7 and 8 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022. 2. The case of prosecution in brief is that, on 23.04.2025, during the patrolling, the police of Police Station Chakradharnagar, Raigarh received secret information that two persons were engaged in playing online gambling and providing ID to others for playing online gambling, near Degree College vegetable market. When the police conducted raid there, two persons were found playing online gambling in cricket match. They disclosed the names of Shahbaz, Mazhar, Farookh, Mannu, Dharmendra Sharma, Monu Bhutani, Amit Agrawal, and also disclosed that all of them are engaged in playing online gambling by preparing a channel through the mobile link. From the applicant Ankit Bani, one mobile phone and cash of Rs. 30,000/- has been seized and from the applicant Bharat Kumar Rohila one mobile phone and cash of Rs. 25,000/- has been seized. On being interrogation, they also 3 disclosed that, to play online cricket gambling, they exchanged a betting app of “All panelexcheq.com” ID and all of them have connected to the said ID for playing online cricket gambling. The offence under Section 7 and 8 of the Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022 has been registered, and they have been arrested on 23.04.2025. On 23-04-2025, the applicant Amit Agrawal was arrested by the Kotwali, Raigarh police for the same offence and from him, one mobile phone having SIM No. 7777873101 and 9827973101 and cash of Rs. 1,20,000/- has been seized. The applicant Amit Agrawal is also arrested in the present offence on 24-04-2025 by the Chakradharnagar police. The other accused persons are absconding, and against these three applicants/accused persons, a charge sheet has been filed before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Raigarh. 3. Mr. Sanjay Agrawal, learned counsel for the applicant/Amit Agrawal, would submit that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the offence. There is no concrete evidence that the applicant is engaged in playing online gambling, except for the suspicion of the police. There is no incriminating material that connects the applicant with the offence in question, could be extracted from the mobile phone seized from him. Even though there is no evidence with respect to any connection or collusion with the other accused persons that all of them are engaged in online cricket gambling through the said betting app. The offence is triable by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, investigation has been completed, and 4 the charge sheet has been filed. There is every likelihood of the conclusion of the trial. The applicant is in jail since 24.04.2025 and therefore, he may be released on bail. 4. Mr. Ashish Gupta, learned counsel appearing for the applicants Ankit Bani and Bharat Kumar Rohila, has submitted that, except the memorandum statements of the applicants, no other evidence is available in the charge sheet to connect them with the offence in question. On the same day, another offence has been registered against them at the police station Kotwali, Raigarh, in which they were also arrested on 24.04.2025, which itself shows the mala fide intention of the police personnel to implicate them in the offence. In the offence registered at Chakradharnagar, Rs. 30,000/- cash and a mobile phone have been seized from the applicant Ankit Bani and Rs. 25,000/- cash and a mobile phone have been seized from the applicant Bharat Kumar Rohila. There is no material available in the charge sheet that any suspicious material was found in the mobile phone or any connection with the other accused persons, or even the use of said betting app. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant Ankit Bani would also submit that he is suffering from kidney disease and his treatment is continued, even while he is in custody. He recently admitted from 05.05.2025 to 12.05.2025 in the KG District Hospital, Raigarh, for treatment of his kidney disease, and it is very difficult for him to continue his treatment from jail. The applicants are in jail since 23.04.2025, final adjudication of the case will take its own time, investigation has been completed, and therefore, they may be 5 enlarged on bail. 5. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State opposes the submissions made by the learned counsel for the respective applicants and has submitted that the applicants Ankit Bani and Bharat Kumar Rohila were caught red-handed playing online cricket gambling through the aforesaid betting app. Mobile phone and total cash of Rs. 55,000/- have been seized from them. From the statement of Ayush Singh and Rahul Srivas, the prima facie evidence of the involvement of the applicants Ankit Bani and Bharat Kumar Rohila in the offence in question is there. He would further submit that the applicants Ankit Bani, Bharat Kumar Rohila and Amit Agrawal are also the accused persons in the crime No. 173 of 2025 registered at police station Kotwali Raigarh for the offence under Section 7 of Chhattisgarh Gambling (Prohibition) Act, 2022 with the allegation that they engaged in online cricket gambling through the aforesaid betting app by their mobile phone. They have been arrested by the Kotwali Raigarh police. The other 06 accused persons are still absconding. The accused persons have organized the offence through online mode and engaged in online cricket gambling, which has an extensive impact on society; therefore, they are not entitled to bail. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary of the case. 7. Considering the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties, considering the nature of allegation against the present applicants and 6 the material collected during the investigation available in the charge sheet, further that the applicants Ankit Bani and Bharat Kumar Rohila were caught red-handed, while playing online cricket gambling and they disclosed the name of other accused persons, further another offence has been registered against the applicants at Kotwali, Raigarh police station for the offence of same nature, the manner in which the offence is alleged to have been organized and its impact upon the society as well as economy of the country and also considering that the nature of offence having various facets of its complexion, I am not inclined to release the applicants on bail. So far as the ailment of the applicant Ankit Bani is concerned, from the document annexed with the bail application, though it reflects that the applicant Ankit Bani is having some kidney ailment, but the jail authorities have duly provided the medical aid to him and the applicant is not entitled for grant of bail on the ground of his ailment. 8. Consequently, the bail applications filed by the present applicants Amit Agrawal, Ankit Bani and Bharat Kumar Rohila are hereby rejected. Sd/- (Ravindra Kumar Agrawal) Judge ved