New Delhi, Nov 5: The Supreme Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to trace and secure Ravi Uppal, the absconding co-founder of the Mahadev betting app, who reportedly fled from Dubai to an undisclosed location. The bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma warned that white-collar crime accused cannot treat courts and probe agencies as “instruments to play around with.”
The court expressed serious concern over Uppal’s evasion, stating, “This shocks our conscience, and the court has to do something about it.” Uppal has been avoiding Indian law enforcement despite being under surveillance in Dubai, prompting UAE authorities to consider closing his extradition proceedings.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju informed the bench that Uppal may have fled to countries without extradition treaties with India, such as the British Virgin Islands, complicating efforts to bring him back. The Supreme Court has asked the ED to trace and secure him and directed Uppal’s lawyer to convince him to return to India to face trial.
Uppal’s plea challenging a March 22 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court, which required him to join the trial in a Raipur money laundering case, was dismissed. The case relates to the Mahadev betting app, founded in 2018 by Uppal and his associate Sourabh Chandrakar, which allegedly facilitated illegal online betting across multiple platforms, with a scam estimated at Rs 6,000 crore. Chandrakar was arrested in Dubai in October 2024, and his extradition is still pending.
The Supreme Court noted that Uppal cannot continue to evade the law indefinitely and may apply for bail at an appropriate stage. The matter has been posted for further hearing on November 14.
The Mahadev betting app investigation, initially handled by Chhattisgarh police and later transferred to the CBI, had earlier named former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel as an accused.