PRAKASHCHAND MIRI vs STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

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2026:CGHC:25249
NAFR

Digitally signed
by ALOK
SHARMA
Date:
2026.06.25
13:23:47 +0530
ALOK
SHARMA
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
MCRC No. 4058 of 2026
1 - Prakashchand Miri S/o 1t. Chatram Miri Aged About 33 Years Village -
Kushmul, Thana - Dabhra, Dist -Janjgir Champa, C.G.
--- Applicant(s)
versus
1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station - New Rajendra Nagar,
District - Raipur (C.G.)
--- Non-applicant(s)
MCRC No. 4671 of 2026
1 - Saket Jagwani S/o Rajkumar Jagwani Aged About 26 Years R/o Juna
Bilaspur Behind Shyam Talkies P.S. City Kotwali Tehsil And District Raipur
C.G.(As Per Order)
--- Applicant(s)
Versus
1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer P.S. New Rajendra
Nagar Raipur District Raipur C.G.
--- Non-applicant(s)
MCRC No. 4565 of 2026
1 - Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav S/o Late Shyam Sunder Vaishnav Aged
About 32 Years R/o Gokul Dham, Amlidih Thana New Rajendra Nagar,
Raipur (C.G.) Permanent Add. Vill. Tuman, Thana Urga Tehsil And District-
Korba (C.G.)
2 - Pramod Kumar Orke S/o Ramayan Singh Orke Aged About 21 Years R/o
Village Ranjana, Thana Dipika Tehsil And District- Korba (C.G.)
--- Applicant(s)

2
Versus
1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station New Rajendra Nagar,
District- Raipur (C.G.)
--- Non-applicant(s)

For Applicant(s) : Mr. Anchala Rathore, Advocate (MCRC No.
4058/2026 and MCRC No. 4565/2026)
Mr. Santosh Kumar Pandey, (MCRC No.
4671/2026)
For Non-applicant(s) : Mr. Vikhyat Arora, Panel Lawyer.
Hon'ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, J.
Order on Board
19/06/2026
These three bail applications are arising out of the same crime
1.
number; therefore, they are being heard and decided together.
The MCRC No. 4058/2026 has been filed by the applicant,
2.
Prakashchand Miri , who has been arrested on 28.02.2026. MCRC
No. 4565/2026 has been filed by Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav and
Pramod Kumar Orke , who have been arrested on 28.02.2026, and
MCRC No. 4671/2026 has been filed by Saket Jagwani , who has also
been arrested on 28.02.2026.
All these bail applications are the first bail applications filed by the
3.
respective applicants, who have been arrested in connection with
Crime No. 89/2026 registered at Police Station New Rajendra Nagar,
District Raipur (C.G.), for the offences punishable under Section 7 of
the Chhattisgarh Gambling Prohibition Act, 2022 and Section 112(2) of
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

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The case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the police of Police Station
4.
New Rajendra Nagar, Raipur, while on patrolling duty, received secret
information on 25.02.2026 that two persons travelling in a white
Baleno car bearing registration No. CG 12 BM 9660 were engaged in
online gambling on the 2020 Cricket World Cup match. On the basis of
the said information, the police reached the suspected place and
found two persons sitting in the said car, who disclosed their names as
Shaiky Darda and Prateek Kumar Vadhwani. On being interrogated,
they admitted their involvement in online gambling. From accused
Shaiky Darda, 8 mobile phones, 4 passbooks, 12 ATM cards, and cash
amounting to Rs. 14,100/- were seized. From accused Prateek Kumar
Vadhwani, three mobile phones and cash amounting to Rs. 10,500/-
were seized. From the mobile phones of the accused persons, betting
platforms namely 23exch9.com, all panel exch.app, and 99.com were
found, and records of online gambling were recovered. Thereafter,
printouts of the screenshots were taken. The accused persons, in their
memorandum statements, disclosed the involvement of other accused
persons, namely, Surya (Mobile No. 9193660415), Dhananjay
Vaishnav (Mobile No. 447700103039), Kuldeep (Mobile No.
7718064937), Bhola (Mobile No. 9202491359), Shubham (Mobile No.
7569305092), Pramod (Mobile No. 9302977679), Prakash Chand Giri
(Mobile No. 9752809455), and Shankar (Mobile No. 8420928266).
They also disclosed that all the accused persons were engaged in the
aforesaid betting platforms and, for the payment gateway, they used
the WhatsApp groups namely "JMK DP" and "Jaidev DP". They further
disclosed that their associates were running online gambling
operations from Goa. During the investigation, it was also found that

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various bank accounts in the names of different persons were linked to
the mobile number of accused Shaiky Darda, and the mobile phones
of the other accused persons were also connected with bank accounts
of various persons. Thereafter, the FIR was registered and, after
investigation, a charge-sheet was filed against seven accused
persons, including the present applicants, Prakashchand Miri, Saket
Jagwani, and Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav. From the applicant
Prakashchand Miri, one mobile phone was seized. From the applicant
Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav, one laptop, one electronic notebook (tab),
16 mobile phones, and one wi-fi router have been seized. From the
accused Saket Jagwani, two laptops, 17 mobile phones, and one Wi-
Fi router have been seized.
Learned counsel appearing for the applicant- Prakashchand Miri in
5.
MCRC No. 4058/2026, and for the applicants, Dhananjay Kumar
Vaishnav and Pramod Kumar Orke in MCRC No. 4565/2026, would
submit that there is no material evidence available in the charge-sheet
against the applicants. Except for the memorandum statement of co-
accused Shainky Darda, there is no admissible evidence against the
applicants to show that they were also involved in online gambling
along with the other co-accused persons. The electronic evidence
allegedly collected by the police is inadmissible in evidence. Though
various mobile phones and bank accounts have been recovered by
the police from Shainky Darda, there is no evidence that the present
applicants were also involved in money transactions through the said
bank accounts or were actively engaged in online gambling with them.
There is no evidence extracted from the mobile phones of the

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applicants showing their involvement in any syndicate with the other
co-accused persons or that they were involved in online gambling. The
investigation has been completed and the charge-sheet has been
filed. The applicants are in jail since 28.02.2026, and the final
adjudication of the case will take its own time, therefore, they may be
enlarged on bail.
Learned counsel appearing for the applicant- Saket Jagwani, in MCRC
6.
No. 4671/2026 also submits that, except for the memorandum
statement of the co-accused, no other evidence is available in the
charge-sheet to implicate him in the offence in question. Even from the
mobile phone of the applicant, nothing could be extracted to connect
him with the offence. In the Cyber Cell report extracted from the mobile
phone of the applicant, no incriminating fact has been discovered.
There are no bank account details of the applicant with respect to the
transaction of money allegedly obtained from online gambling. Even
from the mobile phones of co-accused Shainky Darda or Prateek
Kumar Vadhwani, no material could be extracted by the police to show
that the present applicant was also involved in the syndicate of the
other co-accused persons in online gambling. The evidence collected
by the police during the investigation is electronic evidence, which is
inadmissible in evidence, and there is no possibility of conviction
based on such evidence. The applicant is in jail since 28.02.2026. The
investigation has been completed and the charge-sheet has been
filed, and no custodial interrogation is required. The case is triable by
the Judicial Magistrate First Class. There is no criminal antecedent of
the applicant; therefore, he may be enlarged on bail.

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On the other hand, learned counsel for the State opposes the
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submissions made by learned counsel for the respective applicants
and submits that initially accused Shainky Darda and Prateek Kumar
Vadhwani were arrested, who were actively engaged in online
gambling. On the basis of their memorandum statements and the
material extracted from their mobile phones and screenshots, the
present applicants were arrested. From the mobile phones of the
accused persons, sufficient evidence has been collected with respect
to their connection through the bank accounts of numerous persons,
which itself demonstrates that the accused persons formed a
syndicate for online gambling and were actively involved in it. The
screenshots from the mobile phones of the accused persons, the
contents of the screenshots, the bank account transaction details, and
the other material collected during the investigation are sufficient to
prima facie show that the present applicants were also involved in
online gambling. It is a huge network formed by the accused persons,
and to run the said network, they used numerous mobile phones, bank
accounts, and ATM cards, which were interlinked with the mobile
phones of the accused persons. Therefore, there is sufficient prima
facie material against the applicants, and they are not entitled to bail.
I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material
8.
annexed with the bail application.
9. Considering the submissions made by learned counsel for the parties,
considering the nature of the allegations against the present
applicants, considering the role of the applicants, the seizure of
various mobile phones, ATM cards, and passbooks from the accused

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persons, and that the mobile numbers are interlinked with the bank
accounts of various persons through which transactions are being
made with respect to online gambling, and considering the material
available in the charge-sheet against the present applicants and the
screenshots from the mobile phones, further considering that from the
applicant Prakash Chand Miri, one mobile phone has been seized,
from the applicant Dhananjay Kumar Vaishnav, one laptop, one
electronic notebook (tab), 16 mobile phones, and one router have
been seized; and from the accused Saket Jagwani, two laptops, 17
mobile phones, and one Wi-Fi router have been seized, I am,
therefore, not inclined to release the applicants on bail. Online
gambling is an organized crime having various facets and a significant
impact on the economy of the country. In view of the gravity of the
offence and the manner in which the applicants are involved in the
alleged offence, they are not entitled to be released on bail.
Accordingly, the first bail applications of the applicants, namely
10.
Prakashchand Miri (MCRC No. 4058 of 2026), Dhananjay Kumar
Vaishnav and Pramod Kumar Orke (MCRC No. 4565 of 2026), and
Saket Jagwani (MCRC No. 4671 of 2026), are hereby rejected .
Sd/-
(Ravindra Kumar Agrawal)
Judge
Alok