Chattisgarh High Court
Chandrabhushan Verma vs Directorate Of Enforcement on 29 January, 2025
1
2025:CGHC:5428
NAFR
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
MCRC No. 6462 of 2024
Order reserved on 11/11/2024
Order delivered on 29/01/2025
Chandrabhushan Verma S/o Punaram Verma Aged About 47 Years R/o
Near House Of Mla Dhanendra Sahu, Santoshi Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
... Applicant
versus
Directorate Of Enforcement Represented By Its Assistant Director, Raipur
Zonal Office, A-1 Block, 2nd Floor, Pujari Chambers, Pachpedi Naka,
Raipur, Chhattisgarh
... Respondent
(Cause title taken from Case Information System)
For Applicant : Mr. Manoj Paranjpe, Advocate with Mr.
Shobhit Koshta, Advocate
For Respondent/ED : Dr. Saurabh Kumar Pande, Advocate
Hon’ble Shri Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal
C.A.V. Order
1. This is first bail application filed by the applicant under Section 439 of
the Cr.P.C. read with Sections 45 and 65 of the Prevention of Money
Digitally
signed by
Laundering Act, 2002 (hereinafter called as ‘the PMLA, 2002) for
VEDPRAKASH
DEWANGAN
2
grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested on
22.08.2023 for the offence under Section 3 and 4 of the PMLA, 2002.
2. The prosecution case in brief is that, an FIR of Crime No. 112/2022
registered on 29.07.2022 at Police Station Mohan Nagar, Durg (C.G.)
under Section 4A of the Public Gambling (C.G. Amendment) Act,
1976, which was registered against five accused persons, namely,
Alok Singh Rajput, Rampravesh Sahu, Kharag @ Raja Singh,
Abhishek and Pintu, under Section 4A of the Public Gambling (C.G.
Amendment) Act, 1976 and Section 420, 120B of the IPC and also
for Section 66D of Information Technology Act, 2000. The
Enforcement Directorate had registered the Enforcement Case
Information Report (hereinafter referred as ‘ECIR’) No.
RPZ0/10/2022. On the secret information gathered by the officers of
the ED, the raid was conducted on the premises of the accused
persons in which it was found that a set with a 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, kabaddi etc. Upon
interrogation, the accused persons disclosed the names of two
persons namely Abhishek and Pintu who taught them to procedure of
creating the IDs and placing bets in various sports through the
Mahadev Book. Initially, treating the FIR No. 112/2022 of P.S. Mohan
Nagar, Durg and final report dated 29.07.2022 as scheduled/
predicate offence, the respondent ED registered the ECIR No.
RPZO/09/2022 which was renumbered as ECIR No. RPZ0/10/2022
vide corrigendum dated 07.11.2022 issued by the ED.
3
*******In the said ECIR, FIR No. 206/2023 dated 02.06.2023
registered at P.S. Cyber Crime Vishakhapatnam Commissionerate,
Andhra Pradesh, FIR No. 37/2023 registered at P.S. Bhilai Bhatti,
District Durg (C.G.), FIR No. 86/2023 dated 27.02.2023 registered at
P.S. Chhawani, District Durg (C.G.), FIR No. 336/2023 dated
10.08.2023 registered at P.S. Gudhiyari, District Raipur (C.G.), FIR
No. 685/2023 dated 11.08.2023 registered at P.S. Khamtarai, District
Raipur (C.G.). The allegation against the accused persons are that
they were collecting money from the punters who intended to put the
bets and deposited the money in bank accounts shared through
whatsapp groups. These persons as per the choice of punters put
their bets on website like Tiger Exchange, Gold-365, Laser-247,
cricketbuzz.com, Play-247.win, skyexchange.com, etc. The money
came through these apps were transferred to different accounts till it
was siphoned off by Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Kapil Chelani
and Satish Kumar, who are residing at Dubai. The other online
betting apps like Lotus-365, Fair Play, Reddy Anna, Laser Book, Bet
Book-247 were also operating countrywide and investigation
revealed that the gambling network work thousands of crores. It also
comes that various bank accounts were opened on the basis of
either forged bank number and Aadhar number or misusing the PAN
and Aadhar Card of daily vendors, which were used in transactions of
illegal money of aforesaid illegal betting apps. It also comes on
record that the illegal money generated from these online betting
apps were given to the bureaucrats and politicians as protection
money to run the aforesaid betting apps freely and without any legal
action by the concerned police authorities and the said amount was
4
circulated through Hawala operation and the present applicant is also
involved in circulating the money through Hawala operation. The
applicant has been arrested on 22.08.2023 and prosecution
complaint has been filed against him.
*******On 20.10.2023 when the ED had filed its first prosecution
complaint under Section 44 read with Section 45 of the PMLA, 2002
for the offence under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, 2002 against 14
accused persons. On 11.03.2024 the ED had filed its second
supplementary prosecution complaint in the present ECIR under
Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA, 2002 for the offence under
Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA, 2002 against three accused persons.
3. Learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the applicant is
not an accused in the predicate offence as per Public Gambling
(C.G. Amendment) Act, 1976. The alleged offence is not a scheduled
offence. In reply filed by the ED, they have admitted that the
proceeds of crime are only the money generated from the
bogus/benami accounts used by the Online Mahadev App. The
investigating agency has acted most arbitrarily and it had nothing, but
ill-motivated and mala fide intention to implicate the applicant in
offence. He is having no connection or association in any way either
with the affairs of the business of Mahadev online book or has
received the proceeds of crime. He would further submit that the
prosecution has failed to establish the link of present applicant with
the alleged offence.
*******He would further submit that the allegation against the present
5
applicant in the prosecution complaint that the promoters of Mahadev
Book App obtained protection of various police and administrative
officers and also the influential political persons to stop legal action
against the criminal act of online betting app for which they given the
protection money to them. A huge amount was paid to them through
Hawala operators who used to arrange the distribution of the said
illegal amount. The present applicant along with Bhim Singh Yadav
and his brother Arvind Singh Yadav who all are in police service have
developed relation with higher police officers. The present applicant
received cash amount from the co-accused Sunil Dammani and
delivered it to the higher officers and politicians in the State. The
present applicant used the money sent by the promoters of Mahadev
Book to invest in various firms and companies started in the name of
his family members. The amount delivered through Sunil Dammani
was collected and delivered through Rahul Vakte and Ritesh Kumar
Yadav. He had a direct nexus with Ravi Uppal who is the Director of
Mahadev Book and it is also the allegation against the present
applicant that he destroyed or concealed the relevant evidence. All
these allegations against the present applicant are without any basis.
*******He would further submit that the applicant is suffering from
schizophrenia and his treatment was continued. The minor son of the
applicant namely Srijan is also suffering from Diplegia CP GMFCS
and he needs constant support in his daily routine. There is no
sufficient material against the applicant for commission of offence
under the PMLA Act, 2002. The applicant is in jail since 22.08.2023
and till date only prosecution complaint has been filed and even the
6
charges have not been framed and therefore, there is every
possibility of delay in trial. The long period of incarceration and in
view of the violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under
Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
*******He would also submit that the knowledge and mens rea is an
essential ingredients to establish the offence of money laundering
punishable under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002 and the same is
missing in the present case that the applicant had any knowledge or
mens rea that Mahadev Online Book App was using some bogus
bank account for transactions.
It is further argued by the learned counsel for the applicant that
ED cannot proceed with the pick and chose method in arraying the
applicant as accused in the present case. Without there being any
sufficient material against the applicant was arrested which is mala
fide. The Money Laundering Act come into only when a scheduled
offence is committed. Running the Mahadev Online Book App is not a
scheduled offence which has been admitted by the ED in its reply
that Mahadev Online Book App is not illegal and scheduled offence
the ED has said that an unauthorized bank account has been opened
which amounts to cheating and forgery and therefore, that is
scheduled offence. There is no reference to any scheduled offence
committed by the applicant. Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, 2002
defines the proceeds of crime and Section 3 defines money
laundering, therefore, there has to be a criminal activity that is
connected with the scheduled offence and if any person generates
some money which will come under the definition of proceed of crime
7
which is defined under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA, 2002, therefore,
the sine qua non is the existence of scheduled offence and the
existence of proceeds of crime generated from the scheduled
offence. The Mahadev Online Book App is not a scheduled offence,
opening of bank account is scheduled offence and therefore, money
generated in terms of Section 2(1)(u) is the money generated from
the bank account. The allegation against the present applicant is that
he received proceeds of crime, but the ED could not identify the
proceeds of crime. Mahadev Online Book App is not a scheduled
offence that has been admitted by the ED.
*******He would further submit that the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the
case of Vijay Madan Lal Choudhary Vs. Union of India, (2022)
SCC Online SC 929 has held that the foundational facts to establish
money laundering criminal activity related to scheduled offence has
been committed, property in question has been derived or obtained
directly or indirectly, by any person as a result of criminal activity and
the person concerned is directly or indirectly involved in a process or
activity connected with the said property being proceeds of crime. He
would rely upon para 343 of the Vijay Madan Lal Choudhari’s case
(supra). ED has failed to demonstrate that the property in question
has been derived or obtained directly or indirectly by the present
applicant as result of that criminal activity as they have failed to prove
any nexus between such proceeds of crime and the applicant. There
is no evidence on record to show that the proceeds of crime
generated through predicated offence have been concealed,
possessed, acquired or used and claimed as untainted property by
8
the applicant.
*******The statement recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002
have been considered as substantive evidence against the present
applicant, whereas, in the matter of Amit Agrawal Vs. Directorate of
Enforcement reported in 2024 SCC Online Delhi 141, the Hon’ble
Delhi High Court has held that the statements made by
co-accused/witness under Section 50 of the PMLA, 2002, their
evidentiary value can be tested at the stage of trial. No generation of
proceeds of crime from criminal activity. The bail application of the
applicant in that case was allowed. He would also rely upon another
judgment passed by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in the matter of
Chandra Prakash Khandelwal Vs. Directorate of Enforcement
reported in 2023 SCC Online Delhi 1095 and Vijay Agrawal Vs.
Enforcement of Directorate, reported in (2023) 2 SCC Delhi 651.
*******The ED has acted unfairly and arbitrarily to arrest the applicant
without any sufficient ground, whereas, the other persons having
similar allegation with that of the present applicant have neither been
made as accused nor been arrested. The ED has miserably failed to
prima facie demonstrate the requisite mens rea in the alleged act of
the applicant to exhibit his knowledge or active participation in any
act with proceeds of crime with respect to the scheduled offence. The
allegation against the present applicant does not indicate any
involvement in the predicate offence or even his knowledge to
constitute the alleged offence, therefore, there are reasonable
grounds to believe that the applicant is not guilty of an offence under
Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002. The applicant has not played any role
9
with respect to the Mahadev Online Book App or with the proceeds of
crime. The present applicant had no role in either the creation or
management of the Mahadev Online Book App or any incidental
activity of online betting. He was neither the main perpetrator of the
crime nor even incidentally connected to the alleged proceeds of
crime generated by the Mahadev App. The allegation against the
applicant made in the complaint dated 11.03.2024 is surrounded by a
cloud of doubt and except for assumptions there is no clinching and
cogent evidence produced by the ED against the applicant that he
has dealt with the proceeds of crime in any manner.
*******He would also submit that the co-accused Sunil Dammani has
been granted bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court vide its order dated
03.10.2024, passed in Criminal Appeal No. 4108 of 2024 and Bhim
Singh Yadav has been granted bail vide order dated 25.10.2024 in
Criminal Appeal No. 4407 of 2024, therefore considering the similar
nature of allegation, the present applicant is also entitled for bail.
*******The appellant is to abide by all the conditions which may
imposed by the Hon’ble Court while granting bail to him with the
undertaking that he will not tamper with any evidence or to influence
any witness of the case. The investigation against the present
applicant has been completed and a complaint case has already
been filed before the learned trial Court. He is ready to deposit his
passport and to comply any other condition imposed by this Hon’ble
Court.
*******In support of his submissions, he would rely upon the judgment
10
passed by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI
and another, (2022) 10 SCC 51, P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of
Enforcement, (2020) 13 SCC 791, Sanjay Chandra v. CBI, (2012) 1
SCC 40, Arvind Kejriwal v. Directorate of Enforcement, order
dated 12.07.2024 passed in Criminal Appeal No. 2493 of 2024,
Manish Sisodia v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2024 SCC OnLine
SC 1920, Siddharth v. State of Uttar Pradesh, (2022) 1 SCC 676,
Joginder Kumar v. State of U.P., 1994 Cr.L.J. 1981 and submitted
that looking to the period of his custody, he is cooperative during the
entire investigation and there is no possibility of tampering with the
witnesses or document as the investigation has already been
completed. Therefore, the applicant may be enlarged on bail.
4. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent/Directorate of
Enforcement, apart from the reply in writing submitted to the
application by them has opposed the arguments made by learned
counsel for the applicant and submitted that an ECIR bearing No.
RPZO/10/2022 is recorded against Mahadev Online book to
investigate the matter under the PMLA, Act 2002 on the basis of
charge sheet No.157/2022 dated 29.07.2022 filed by police station
Mohan Nagar, District Durg against Alok Singh Rajput, Rampravesh
Sahu, Kharag @ Raja Singh and others for the offence under Section
120B and 420 of the IPC alleging in it that the accused persons are
involved in online betting in live ludo, football, casino game and amass
through Mahadev book. On being secret information, the raid was
conducted and aforesaid accused persons were taken into custody who
had prepared a set-up with laptops by which they collected money by
11
creating an Online ID and then the said money was put in bet for others
through Mahadev Online book on online cricket match, horse racing,
greyhound racing and Kabaddi etc. Various laptops, mobile phones,
passbooks of various banks, debit/credit cards, sim cards, cheque
books and cash were seized from the premises and an investigation
under the PMLA, 2002 was undertaken after recording of the ECIR.
During the course of the investigation, it came into knowledge that
various FIRs have also been registered all over the country for illegal
online betting through Mahadev book and one of the FIRs of Crime
No.206/2023 dated 02.06.2023 was registered by Andhra Pradesh
police, P.S. Cyber Crime, Vishakhapatnam Commissionerate for the
offence under Section 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 read with
Section 34 of the IPC, 66C, 66D of Information Technology Act, 2000
and Section 3 and 4 of Andhra Pradesh Gambling Act.
The Andhra Pradesh Police has further come to the knowledge
that 21 persons were running call centres for the operation of the
Mahadev App. and they were collecting money from punters who
intended to put bets and deposited the money in bank accounts
shared through WhatsApp groups. Those persons put their bets on
websites like Tiger Exchange, Gold 365, Lesser 247,
cricketbuzz.com, and Play 247.win, skyexchange.com and Cricket
bet9.com. The money made from the said app was transferred to
different bank accounts till it was siphoned to a person named
Sourabh Chandrakar who lives in Dubai. The Govt. has blocked the
illegal betting website Mahadev Book. It also comes into knowledge
that Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Kapil Chelani and Satish
12
Kumar who are also residing in Dubai, are known to operate close to
60 illegal offshore gambling websites such as Lotus 365, Fair Play,
Reddy Anna, Lesser Book, Tiger Exchange, Bad book 247 and Gold
365. Several cases relating to fraud and illegal activities have been
registered against Sourabh Chandrakar. Various FIRs have been
registered against various individuals for being involved in illegal
betting operations through the Mahadev book app and those FIRs
are at P.S. Gudhiyari, Raipur, P.S. Bhilai Bhatthi, District Durg, P.S.
Khamtarai, Raipur etc. The FIR of Crime No. 6/2024 registered by
EOW, Raipur C.G. for the offence under Section 120B, 420, 467,
468, 471 and 34 of the IPC and Section 7 and 11 of the Prevention of
Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended on 2018) registered against
Sourabh Chandrakar, Ravi Uppal, Shubham Soni, Harishankar
Tibrewal and others for being involved in betting operations through
Mahadev Online book, Sky Exchange and other betting apps. The
FIR No. 206/2020 registered in the Burtola P.S., Kolkata, West
Bengal for the offence under Section 120B and 420 of the IPC and
Section 3 and 4 of the West Bengal Price and Cheat Company Act
has also been registered against Harishankar Tibrewal, Suraj
Chokhani and others for being engaged in online betting.
He would further submit that Mahadev’s online book provides
an online platform for illegal betting in different live games like cricket,
badminton, tennis, football etc. and also provides facilities for playing
a number of card games like teen patti, poker, dragon tiger, virtual
cricket game etc.
To create an appearance of genuineness for this illegal betting
13
racket Mahadev Online Book the promoters have a company
registered in the name M/s Mahadev Book Market Limited in the
country of Sent Vincent and the Grenadines under the directorship in
the name of Shubham Soni who is part of top management of
Mahadev Online book. Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal are the
main promoters and beneficiary owners of this betting syndicate. The
Mahadev online book operates from abroad and provides WhatsApp
contact numbers on the websites. Once a user contacts the number,
he will be provided two separate contact numbers. One contact
number is to be utilized for depositing money and collecting points in
IDs and the second number is for contacting the website to encash
points accumulated in the designated IDs. The IDs are generally
created on multiple websites depending on the needs and
preferences of the betters. The betting app is operated by various
panels/branches which are sold by the promoters and they keep 70-
75% of the profit of the panel operations. A panel has an owner and
workers normally four in number. One person can own multiple
panels. The office of promoters in Dubai is commonly known as the
head office by the panel owners and the said panel owners can
create user profiles of players/punters. The panel operators are
allotted fixed credits which can be transferred to any player/punter
and credits are allocated to the players against payments in
designated bank accounts. The players/punters who want to play
online betting through Mahadev Book via WhatsApp number given on
the website of Mahadev Book then head office refers these
players/punters to the panel. After receiving the details of the panel
the players/punters deposit a minimum amount of Rs.100/- with no
14
maximum amount for online betting. The panel owners receive the
funds from customers into benami bank accounts which are arranged
by the panel owners. These bank accounts are either opened
fraudulently or loaned for commission. Thousands of employees are
working in the call centre in Dubai which operates multiple WhatsApp
groups for each panel. Weekly account sheets are shared with the
panel owners by head office which contain statements of all bets,
total profit or total loss. The panel owners are supposed to remit the
shares of the Mahadev head office via hawala routs on a regular
basis.
During the course of the investigation, the bank account
statements of various bank accounts gathered through intelligence
were called for. After analysing the said bank accounts trends of
funds have led ED to the doorstep of multiple entities that either remit
money outside India or withdraw it as cash. It is suspected that
thousands of crores of illegal betting proceeds which are nothing but
proceeds of crime have been remitted outside India. The promoters
of the Mahadev online book have also set up mini-companies in
Dubai to route money and also to facilitate Visa services to the staff
of the Mahadev online book working there. It was also found that the
present applicant who is the police authority in the State Police
Service received the illegal amount of the proceeds of crime to pay
protection money to the higher police authorities/bureaucrats and
politicians for smooth running of their illegal betting app and to
protect them from any legal action and the present applicant
collected the money from Hawala operations to pay it to the higher
15
police authorities/bureaucrats and politicians.
Considering the role played by the present applicant
Chandrabhushan Verma in commission of offence of money
laundering under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002, he was arrested on
22.08.2023. The prosecution complaint has already been filed
against the present application at Special Court, PMLA Raipur. It is
further submitted by learned counsel for the respondent that the ED
has identified the proceeds of crime and its realization by the betting
syndicate. The proceeds in question were being generated by the
Mahadev Online Book through various bogus/benami bank accounts.
The illegal funds belonging to Mahadev Online Book is transferred
through bogus/benami bank accounts which is the proceeds of crime
as per Section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. From the material collected
during the investigation, it has also been identified that the amount
generated from Mahadev Online Book has been utilized in
purchasing immovable properties, investing in the Indian share
market, organizing star-studded events, payments of liaisoning
money for smooth betting operations, investment in bitcoin USDT,
acquiring business of competitors etc.
*******There is every chance of the applicant seeking to defeat the
process of law in India. There is every possibility of tempering with
the witnesses and evidence of the case. Further relying upon the
judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Gurvinder Singh
Vs. State of Punjab in the order dated 07.02.2024 passed in CRA
No.704/2024 submitted that the trial proceeding of the case will take
time and cannot be a ground to grant bail. He would further submit
16
that there is sufficient evidence against the present applicant which
prima facie establishes his involvement in the offence in question and
in view of the nature of the offence, the applicant is not entitled to
grant of bail.
5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material
available on record.
6. For consideration of the bail application under PMLA, 2002 the Court
need not go deep inside the merits of the case but should consider
the prima facie material against the accused in the case. The Hon’ble
Supreme Court in the matter of Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary case
(supra) has observed in para 401 of its judgment that:-
“401. We are in agreement with the observation made by
the Court in Ranjitsing Brahmajeetsing Sharma [(2005) 5
SCC 294]. The Court while dealing with the application for
grant of bail need not delve deep into the merits of the
case and only a view of the Court based on available
material on record is required. The Court will not weigh
the evidence to find the guilt of the accused which is, of
course, the work of Trial Court. The Court is only required
to place its view based on probability on the basis of
reasonable material collected during the investigation
and the said view will not be taken into consideration by
the Trial Court in recording its finding of the guilt or
acquittal during trial which is based on the evidence
adduced during the trial. As explained by this Court in
Nimmagadda Prasad [(2013) 7 SCC 466], 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.”
17
7. In the case of Satish Jaggi Vs. State of Chhattisgarh, (2007) 11
SCC 195, the Hon’ble Supreme Court has held that “at the stage of
granting of bail, the Court can only go into the question of prima facie
case established for granting bail, it cannot go into the question of
credibility and reliability of witnesses put up by the prosecution. The
question of credibility and reliability of prosecution witnesses can only
be tested during trial.”
8. The Delhi High Court in its order dated 07.03.2024 passed in Bail
Application No.3807/2022 (Sanjay Jain Vs. Enforcement
Directorate) after relying upon the observations made in the case of
Vijay Madanlal Choudhary (Supra) has observed in para 49 that:-
“49. It thus, emerges that at the stage of
considering a bail application under the PMLA, the
Court has to bear in mind the following aspects:
i. Wether 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
18weighing 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 present case, from the material collected during the
investigation, it reveals that the present applicant who was working
as Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police has played role in providing
protection money to higher police officers and politicians for smooth
running of Mahadev Book App in the State of Chhattisgarh. He has
become the link between the promoters of Mahadev Book, who are
at Dubai and the powers to be in the Chhattisgarh. The said illegal
money was regularly sent through Hawala operations from Dubai
through Anil Dammani and Sunil Dammani to the present applicant
for his own and to distribute amongst bureaucrats, higher police
authorities and politicians. He himself has admitted his role in his
statement. From the evidence collected during the investigation it
also reveals that the present applicant is also associated with Jasiph,
Ritesh, Bhim Singh, Arjun Yadav, Vijay Pandey, Prashant Tripathi and
Sahadev Yadav, who used to collect the amount transferred by Ravi
Uppal through Hawala and delivered it within the State of
Chhattisgarh to various persons as aforesaid. The applicant being an
police official of the State would be well aware of the betting
operations undertaken through Mahadev Book are illegal and the
funds made available to him by Ravi Uppal through Hawala are the
19
proceeds of crime. Despite that he willingly involved himself in money
laundering activities. Further, the present applicant set up various
firms either in the name of his family members or his relatives for the
purposes to justify the bogus transactions through the said firms to
launder the proceeds of crime acquired by him. It was also revealed
that the present applicant has engaged in providing cash to various
Rice Millers in lieu of bank entries of these firms without there being
any actual transaction of food grains. It also reveals that in the
financial year 2022-23, the bank account number 39642058577 run
by M/s. Srijan Associates had received 6.7 Crores, the bank account
number 39946378820 run by M/s. Aditya Trading Company had
received Rs. 6.78 Crores approx in the bank account.
10. The criminal activity of opening bogus/benami bank accounts and
utilizing them for illegal online betting therefore the illegal funds
belonging to Mahadev Online Book being transferred through the
bogus bank account is the proceeds of crime as defined under
Section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. The digital record seized in the case
and from the statements recorded under Section 50 of the PMLA,
2002 clearly establishes the link of the present applicant with the
illegal betting website Sky Exchange and the generation of proceeds
of crime through it.
11. The proceeds of crime have been defined under Section 2(1)(u) of
the PMLA, 2002 which reads as under:-
“2.(1)(u) “proceeds of crime” means any property
derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, by any
person as a result of criminal activity relating to a
scheduled offence or the value of any such property,
20or where such property is taken or held outside the
country, then the property equivalent in value held
within the country or abroad;
Explanation :- For the removal of doubts, it is hereby
clarified that “proceeds of crime” including 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 deep-
rooted 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 interests of
the public/State and other similar considerations.
13. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary
(supra) has observed in para 398 as under :-
“398. Thus, it is well settled by the various decisions of
this Court and policy of the State as also the view of
international community that the offence of money-
laundering is committed by an individual with a
21deliberate design with the motive to enhance his gains,
disregarding the interests of nation and society as a
whole and which by no stretch of imagination can be
termed as offence of trivial nature. Thus, it is in the
interest of the State that law enforcement agencies
should be provided with a proportionate effective
mechanism so as to deal with these types of offences
as the wealth of the nation is to be safeguarded from
these dreaded criminals. As discussed above, the
conspiracy of money-laundering, which is a three-
staged process, is hatched in secrecy and executed in
darkness, thus, it becomes imperative for the State to
frame such a stringent law, which not only punishes
the offender proportionately, but also helps in
preventing the offence and creating a deterrent effect.”
14. Having considered the rival submissions made by respective parties,
as also from the material produced in the present case, it is not
acceptable that the present applicant did not know about the
transactions of Mahadev online book and the money obtained by
him. Denial by the applicant itself is not sufficient to consider prima
facie that there is no mens rea of the applicant for the said offence
under the PMLA Act, 2002. Although the statements are required to
be tested at the time of trial, but for the purpose of consideration of
bail application, the statements and other documents as well as
electronic evidence are relevant for consideration of bail application
of the applicant. Though the co-accused Sunil Dammani and Bhim
Singh Yadav have been granted bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court,
but the allegation against the present applicant is different than the
other accused persons, therefore, no benefit could be extended to
the applicant by the same.
22
15. As has been discussed hereinabove, it cannot be said that there is
no involvement of the applicant in the offence in question.
Considering the role of the applicant in the ensuing money
laundering case of proceeds of crime in Mahadev Book App, it is
found that, there is sufficient evidence collected by the respondent-
Enforcement Directorate to prima facie show the involvement of the
applicant in the offence of money laundering as defined under
Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002. It is an organized crime having various
facets of its complexion, therefore, further considering the provisions
of Section 45 of the PMLA, 2002 this Court is satisfied that there are
reasonable grounds for believing that the applicant is involved in the
offence and he is likely to commit any other offence while on bail, I
am not inclined to grant bail to the applicant.
16. Consequently, the present bail application filed by the applicant-
Chandrabhushan Verma is rejected.
Sd/-
(Ravindra Kumar Agrawal)
Judge
ved
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