Dhruv Seth Vs Union of India (Allahabad High Court)
The Allahabad High Court allowed the bail application of Dhruv Seth, Director of M/s Pymplay Advance Gaming Tech. (OPC) Pvt. Ltd., in a case alleging tax evasion of ₹28,61,45,695 arising from online money gaming. According to the prosecution case, the company was involved in online money gaming and payments received by the aggregator were transferred to different accounts. The applicant submitted that co-accused Sachet Goyal had stated that the applicant, being his friend, had provided his documents for establishing the company and directorship, while the directors were not in direct contact with the handlers and the work was done by Sachet Goyal. The applicant also submitted that there was no material showing his contact with the handlers, that his liability as a director would relate to tax liability rather than criminal prosecution, that the maximum punishment was five years, and that he had no criminal history and had remained in custody since 15.3.2026.
The opposite party opposed bail on the ground that the applicant was a director and was involved in non-issuance of invoices for gaming, resulting in the alleged tax evasion. However, it was not disputed that the co-accused had made the statement relied upon by the applicant. The Court noted that no criminal history or antecedents had been shown and that there was no allegation that the applicant had failed to cooperate with the investigation or trial proceedings.
