9911796707
TMI Blog2025 (3) TMI 685X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ich was registered against five accused persons, namely Alok Singh Rajput, Ram Pravesh Sahu, Kharag @ Raja Singh, Abhishek and Pintu. The ED had registered the Enforcement Case Information Report (for short 'ECIR') No. RPZO/10/2022. On the secrete information gathered by the officers of ED, the raid was conducted on the premises of other accused persons, in which it was found a set with laptop and they were collecting money by creating online IDs and through the said IDs they were placing bets for others through Mahadev book, on online Cricket matches, Horse racing, Greyhound racing and Kabaddi, etc. Upon interrogation, the accused persons disclosed the name of two persons, namely, Abhishek and Pintu, who taught them the procedure of creating the IDs and placing bets in various sports through the Mahadev book. Initially, treating the FIR No. 112 of 2022 (Final Report No. 157/2022) of P.S. Mohan Nagar, Durg as Scheduled/Predicate Offence, the respondent/ED registered the ECIR No. RPZO/9/2022, which was re-numbered as ECIR No. RPZO/10/2022 vide corrigendum dated 07.11.2022 issued by the ED. In the said ECIR, FIR No. 206/2023 dated 02.06.2023 registered at P.S. Cyber Crime Vishakhapa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an owner and workers who are usually four in numbers. One person can own multiple panels and there was no bar on number of panels being operated by one person. The head office is at Dubai who creates ID and password for the panel owners. The panel operator using the IDs can further create sub-IDs for player/punters. The IDs are generally created on multiple websites as depicted on the app of Mahadev online book. After receiving the details of panel, the players/punters deposit the minimum amount of Rs.100/- for online betting with no maximum amount. All the games are rigged in a manner that overall, the panel owners will not lose money. During the investigation, multiple panel operators were raided, who were working under the Mahadev online book and it came on record that the said betting syndicate was generating proceeds of crime worth Rs. 450 crores per month through the panel operations. It also came in the investigation that Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal in the entire investigation to be the kingpin of the betting empire and indulge in money laundering with their associates. In the investigation, it also come that the said panel operations was running with active support a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , in which he is claiming regular bail. The applicant is actively involved in money laundering having been touch with bureaucrats to run the Mahadev Online Book without any objection. Thus, the applicant committed the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of PMLA-2002, which is punishable under Section 4 of PMLA-2002 against whom the prosecution complaint has been filed. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that there is no evidence in the prosecution complaint that the applicant had travelled from Dubai to Raipur just before when he was arrested. He is neither the owner of the car from which the cash amount of Rs. 3,11,00,000/- have been seized nor he was the occupant of the said car, when the amount was seized. He was also not there in his house, when the amount of Rs. 2,27,00,000/- is said to have been seized by the ED. The source of such a huge amount has also not been investigated by the ED. There is no connection with the other accused person either physically or telephonically. The applicant is in jail since 03.11.2023 and till date there is no information about the trial as to when it will commence. There are number of witnesses cited by the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tself shows that he was managing the illegal funds derived from the Mahadev Online Book. There is sufficient evidence that he closely connected with Subham Soni @ Pintu, who is one of the main perpetrators of the offence and thus in lieu of his involvement in the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 of PMLA-2002, he was arrested by ED on 03.11.2023, and therefore, he is not entitled for bail. In support of his contention, he also relied upon the judgement of Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 929, Pawana Dibbur v. Directorate of Enforcement (Criminal Appeal No. 2779 of 2023), Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy v. CBI, (2013) 7 SCC 439, State of Gujarat v. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal and others, (1987) 2 SCC 364 and submitted that mere delay in trial pertaining to grave offence cannot be a ground to grant bail. He would also submit that observing the economic offence is committed with deliberate design, with an eye on personal profit, regardless to the consequence to the community, which will damage to the national economy and national interest, and therefore the applicant is not entitled for bail and his bail application is liable to be dismissed. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ether the accused possessed the requisite mens rea. (ii) The words used in Section 45 of the 2002 Act are "reasonable grounds for believing" which means the Court has to see only if there is a genuine case against the accused and the prosecution is not required to prove the charge beyond reasonable doubt. (iii) A positive finding that the accused had not committed an offence under the Act is not required to be recorded. A delicate balance between a judgment of acquittal/conviction and an order granting bail much before commencement of the trial is to be maintained. (iv) The evidence is not to be weighed meticulously but a finding is to be arrived at on the basis of broad probabilities with reference to the material collected during investigation. The weighing of evidence to find the guilt of the accused is the work of Trial Court. (v) A finding is also required to be recorded as to the possibility of the bail applicant committing a crime after grant of bail. This aspect has to be considered having regard to the antecedents of the accused, his propensities and the nature and manner in which he is alleged to have committed the offence." 9. In the matter of "State of Bih ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uding property not only derived or obtained from the scheduled offence but also any property which may directly or indirectly be derived or obtained as a result of any criminal activity relatable to the scheduled offence." 12. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Vs. CBI, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 439 has held in para 34 and 35 of its judgment that "34. Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offences having deeprooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country. 35. While granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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