Baliram Shivaji Ghante v. State of Maharashtra
In the High Court of Bombay
Crl. B.A. 2953/2021
Before Justice N.W. Sambre
Decided on September 28, 2021

Relevancy of the Case: Bail application in a case where the police found four mobile phones in the possession of the accused with a criminal history

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Information Technology Act, 2000 (Section 65)
• The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 420, 467, 468, 472)
• The Public Gambling Act, 1867 (Section 4, 5)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The police found the applicant with four mobile phones and has criminal history.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The applicant’s counsel argued that neither forgery nor any material for hacking was established from the present charges. Cheating and gambling cannot coexist at the same time. The available material does not demonstrate how the petitioner has violated the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that the applicant was found in possession of four mobile phones and has criminal antecedents.

Opinion of the Bench

• The court has already granted bail to the co-accused working with the applicant. There is no evidence available to justify the accusation against the applicant. Moreover, the available record does not infer a claim of forgery or cheating.

Final Decision

• The court allowed the bail application with conditions.

Yagyanseni Acharya, an undergraduate student at VIT School of Law, Chennai, prepared this case summary during her internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2024.