Delhi court grants 2-day transit remand for Mahadev app promoter Sourabh Chandrakar; Oman court had ordered his extradition on ED's request

Mumbai : A Delhi court on Monday granted the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) two-day transit remand of Mahadev Book app promoter Sourabh Chandrakar, who was brought to India following his extradition from Oman. The court directed the agency to produce him before the Special Judge hearing CBI cases in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, on or before Wednesday.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Nikhil Chopra of the Rouse Avenue District Courts said the objections raised by Chandrakar’s defence, including whether he could be prosecuted in the CBI case following his extradition, were matters to be decided by the trial court in Raipur.

Chandrakar was arrested on November 1 at 7.35 pm and produced before the court at around 11.45 am on Monday. The CBI told the court that he had been detained in Oman for illegal entry on forged travel documents and was subsequently surrendered to India by the Omani government. An open-ended non-bailable warrant issued against him by the CBI special court in Raipur was pending, and he has been charge-sheeted in the case.


Seeking his custody, the CBI alleged that Chandrakar, along with co-accused Ravi Uppal, promoted the Mahadev Book app and operated an online betting syndicate through a network of panel and branch operators. Uppal remains wanted and is suspected to be in Dubai.

The agency alleged that hundreds of bank accounts were opened to facilitate commission payments and route betting proceeds to the promoters in the UAE. The syndicate was allegedly operated from Dubai, described as its head office, and employed several youths from Chhattisgarh as staff and managers.

The defence opposed the CBI’s plea, arguing that the extradition proceedings in Oman had been initiated in connection with the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering case and not the CBI investigation. The lawyers produced a copy of the October 8 decision of the Muscat Court of Appeal and contended that the CBI could not use the extradition order to secure Chandrakar’s custody in a separate case.

Citing Article 11 of Oman’s extradition law, the defence argued that the Indian authorities had undertaken not to prosecute Chandrakar for offences other than those for which he was extradited. It further contended that the CBI could not act as a substitute for the ED and that the legality of his arrest itself was questionable.

Opposing the submissions, Special Public Prosecutor V K Pathak said the Omani order produced by the defence was neither authenticated nor certified and its status as a translation was also unclear. He told the court that the CBI had independently sought his extradition and had received communication from Oman in this regard.

The prosecutor argued that the ED case arose from the scheduled offence being investigated by the CBI and that the same special judge in Raipur was dealing with both proceedings. The transit remand was necessary as the agency could not produce Chandrakar before the Raipur court within 24 hours of his arrest, he said.

The Muscat Court of Appeal, in its October 8 ruling, had held that the legal requirements for Chandrakar’s extradition to India were satisfied and rejected a competing extradition request from the UAE.

India’s request was based on the 2004 extradition treaty between the two countries and an open-ended non-bailable warrant issued in September 2023 by the Special PMLA Court in Raipur. The Omani court found that the alleged offences had been committed in India, the documents submitted by Indian authorities met the requirements of Omani law and the alleged money laundering offences attracted the requisite punishment under its laws.

Chandrakar had opposed his extradition, claiming that he had renounced Indian citizenship in 2020 and acquired Vanuatu nationality. His lawyers also relied on a Dubai appellate ruling which, they argued, had held that he could not be extradited to India. Chandrakar further claimed that he had been tried and acquitted of the same charge in the UAE in 2025.

Rejecting his nationality-based objection, the Omani court observed: ”…as regards the preliminary defence raised by the person sought in his memorandum – that he should not be extradited to the Republic of India or to the United Arab Emirates for failure to meet the conditions of extradition, because he officially renounced Indian nationality in 2020 before the Embassy of the Republic of India in Dubai and holds the nationality of the Republic of Vanuatu – this is an unfounded defence.”

The court relied on an August 30, 2026 communication from the Indian Embassy in Muscat confirming that Chandrakar was an Indian citizen holding an Indian passport. It also held that even if he possessed Vanuatu nationality, that would not, by itself, prevent his extradition under Omani law.

The UAE had also sought his extradition in connection with a money laundering and illegal-organisation financing case. However, the Omani court rejected the request, citing the absence of undertakings required under its law, including assurances that Chandrakar would not be prosecuted for unrelated prior offences or handed over to a third country without Oman’s consent, besides guarantees of a fair trial. After considering the competing requests, the court favoured India’s plea, citing its earlier request, the bilateral treaty and Chandrakar’s Indian nationality.

ED: a syndicate beyond one brand

Separately, the ED’s investigation has alleged that the Mahadev betting network operated through several platforms beyond the Mahadev Book app. According to the agency, its promoters acquired Reddy Anna in 2020 and held a 50 per cent stake in Fairplay. Chandrakar, Girish Talreja and Ratan Lal Jain alias Aman were allegedly partners in Lotus365.

The ED probe has also found that Chandrakar’s elder brother Gitesh assisted in operating Mahadev Book and other platforms, including Anna Reddy, Laser Book and Ambani Book. Hari Shankar Tibrewal allegedly operated Skyexchange in association with the Mahadev promoters using a similar network of master IDs and cash points.

In its investigation, the ED has described Chandrakar and Uppal as the principal promoters, controllers and beneficiaries of Mahadev Online Book. Statements recorded under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) allegedly indicate that Chandrakar was involved in promoting the platform from its early stages, allotting and selling betting panels and receiving a share of the profits through banking channels and hawala transactions.

The agency has alleged that Chandrakar operated the network’s head office from Dubai and left India on February 16, 2022, without returning thereafter. Records of a Dubai-based investment company allegedly identified him as an initial shareholder and director, while a villa held by the company was declared as his residence. The ED has also frozen securities worth Rs 236.3 crore held by entities allegedly linked to a hawala operator and claimed that betting proceeds were routed into UAE real estate through shell companies.

The agency has further alleged that his February 2023 wedding in the UAE involved cash expenditure of around Rs 200 crore, largely remitted through hawala channels. Travel agency records allegedly showed that international travel and hotel bookings for Chandrakar and his associates were funded through betting proceeds.

Chandrakar had also failed to appear before the ED despite summonses issued for September 2 and 4, 2023, the agency has alleged. It has questioned his claim of having renounced Indian citizenship, pointing to the issuance of a Vanuatu passport to him on May 6, 2022, while he continued to hold an Indian passport.