MPHC refuses to quash 2022 IPL betting case against ‘mastermind’
Jabalpur/Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday refused to quash criminal proceedings against alleged 2022 IPL betting case mastermind Satish Sanpal, observing that the material collected by the police, prima facie, warranted a trial.A single bench of Justice Himanshu Joshi dismissed Sanpal’s petition, challenging an FIR registered at Madan Mahal police station under the Public Gambling Act and multiple IPC sections, including conspiracy and cheating.According to the prosecution, the police raided a suspected IPL betting operation on April 23, 2022, after receiving a tip from an informer. Two persons, Deepak Patel and Sunil Thakur, were allegedly found to be involved in the betting operation during the cash-rich domestic cricket tournament.During further investigation, the police allegedly identified Sanpal as the mastermind, claiming he opened fake shell companies in his name and of others through which large transactions were carried out, allegedly defrauding the govt.However, Sanpal’s lawyers disputed the allegations, saying there was no independent financial, electronic or communication evidence linking him to the betting operation. They said Sanpal, an NRI based in Dubai, was not in India when the alleged betting operation came to the fore.The defence, too, argued that forensic examination of phones seized from other suspects had revealed no incriminating material against him. It also disputed the allegations of shell companies, saying they were registered entities filing statutory returns. It also argued that Rs 21.55 lakh cited by the prosecution was neither recovered from Sanpal nor linked to him through any money trail.The prosecution opposed the plea, saying investigation had produced sufficient material for a prima facie case, saying the charges being disputed by the defence should be examined during trial.At this, the HC Jabalpur bench said it could not conduct a ‘mini-trial’ while considering a plea to quash proceedings, holding that if the material gathered during an investigation makes for a prima facie case, proceedings should not ordinarily be stopped at the threshold.The court also rejected Sanpal’s plea for parity with Sanjay Sanpal, whose proceedings arising from the same FIR were quashed in May 2025, saying the roles and evidence against different suspects have to be examined separately.The court dismissed the petition to quash FIR No. 170/2022 and the consequential proceedings.
