THE HALFAX HEIMDALL AUGUR

Karnataka HC orders release of Gameskraft founders, calls ED arrests ... News All Stories Karnataka HC orders release of Gameskraft founders, calls ED arrests illegal The Karnataka High Court ordered the immediate release of Gameskraft founders Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja, and Prithviraj Singh, holding that their arrests by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were not in accordance with the law. Kunal Manchanada 17 Jun 2026 13:06 IST Follow Us New Update The Karnataka High Court ordered the immediate release of Gameskraft founders Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja, and Prithviraj Singh, holding that their arrests by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were not in accordance with the law. According to multiple media reports, Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed the petitions filed by the founders and declared their arrests “contrary to law”. The court also directed prison authorities to release them immediately. A detailed copy of the judgment is awaited. The three founders, who are directors of Gameskraft Technologies and RummyCulture Technologies, were arrested from Gurugram in May this year and later brought to Bengaluru in connection with a money laundering investigation. The ED’s case stems from …

'Recycled suspicion': Why court declared arrest of Gameskraft ... Declaring the arrest of three directors of online gaming company Gameskraft in a money laundering case illegal, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday underlined that “the power to arrest may be statutory, the right to liberty is constitutional. Whenever the two intersect, the law demands that the former bow to the safeguards, fairness, and accountability that the latter commands.” Further, it added that the necessity to arrest must arise from new circumstances, new material, or new conduct; it cannot spring from the ashes of allegations that have remained unchanged. Justice M Nagaprasanna, in a 134-page order, said, “Arrest of these petitioners is declared contrary to law. As a consequence thereof, the petitioners shall be set at liberty forthwith.” The bench added, “Further, it clarified it shall be open to the Enforcement Directorate to issue summons under Section 50 of PMLA Act to the petitioners – Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh, and Vikas Taneja, and proceed further in accordance with law, should the circumstances, so warrant.” On May 8, the agency had arrested the three petitioners on charges of alleged chea…

Karnataka High Court declares arrest of Gameskraft directors illegal; but allows ED to proceed against them by issuing summons The court found that the ED had arrested them without issuing them summons under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Launder (PML) Act. Also, the court said that there was no new material to arrest them

Karnataka HC orders release of Gameskraft founders, calls ED arrests ... The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday set aside the arrest of online gaming company Gameskraft’s founders Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja, and Prithviraj Singh by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), terming it illegal, and directed their release from judicial custody. Justice M Nagaprasanna held that the arrests were contrary to law and ordered that the founders be set at liberty. “Writ petitions are allowed. Arrest of these petitioners is declared contrary to law. As a consequence thereof the petitioners shall be set at liberty forthwith. The Registry is directed to intimate the prison authorities to enable release of these petitioners. (Petition) allowed bearing in mind the observations made.” Also read |PIL challenging constitutionality of Shivakumar’s council of ministers dismissed The Court had reserved orders on June 8 on petitions filed by the three founders seeking the quashing of three Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) arising from predicate offences registered in Telangana between January and February this year. The ECIRs were registered after the Karnataka High Court stayed an earlier mone…

Gameskraft case: Karnataka HC declares ED arrests illegal, orders ... The Karnataka High Court has declared the Enforcement Directorate’s arrests of three Gameskraft founders illegal and ordered their release. | Photo Credit: SREENIVASA MURTHY V The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday said that the arrests of three founders of online gaming platform Gameskraft by the ED were illegal and ordered their immediate release. The Enforcement Directorate arrested the trio on May 8 in an alleged fraud-linked money laundering case. Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh and Vikas Taneja were taken into custody under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Justice M Nagaprasanna passed the order while allowing the trio's petitions challenging their arrest. The arrests followed the central agency filing a money laundering case against Gameskraft Technologies Ltd and other associated entities taking cognisance of multiple police FIRs related to alleged cheating and fraud. The ED also conducted raids in May at 17 locations in Delhi-NCR and Karnataka leading to the seizure of certain documents. The platform, as per ED officials, ra…

Karnataka HC Declares Gameskraft Founders' Arrest Illegal The Karnataka High Court has ordered the immediate release of Gameskraft’s founders, ruling their arrest by the Enforcement Directorate as illegal. This development surfaces amid intense regulatory scrutiny over money laundering allegations and operational practices in the Indian online gaming sector. What Happened The Karnataka High Court has ruled that the arrest of Gameskraft founders Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja, and Prithviraj Singh by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) was illegal. Justice M. Nagaprasanna delivered the verdict, ordering the immediate release of the founders from custody. The court's decision concludes a period of detention related to an ongoing investigation into allegations of money laundering. This probe originated from three First Information Reports (FIRs) filed in Telangana in early 2026. The Allegations and Case Context The Enforcement Directorate’s investigation has centered on serious allegations against Gameskraft and its platforms, including RummyCulture Technologies. The agency has accused the firm of employing deceptive business practices. According to the ED, these practices included manip…

Karnataka High Court declares Gameskraft founders' ED arrest illegal ... The Karnataka High Court Tuesday declared the arrest of three founders of online gaming company Gameskraft by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case illegal and directed their forthwith release from prison. Justice M Nagaprasanna, while allowing the petitions filed by Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh, and Vikas Taneja, said, “The writ petitioners are allowed, arrest is declared contrary to law, as a consequence thereof the petitioners shall be set at liberty forthwith, the registry is directed to communicate the order to the prison authorities, to enable release of these petitioners.” A detailed copy of the order is yet to be made available. ED had arrested the three founders for allegedly cheating, fraud, and other offences. The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Gamezkraft Technologies Ltd and its associated entities, based on multiple FIRs alleging cheating, fraud, and other offences against the company and its founders, who operated online real-money gaming platforms such as RummyCulture and RummyTime. Several FIRs registered against the company are …

Karnataka HC orders release of Gameskraft founders, calls ED arrests ... In a massive procedural setback for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Karnataka High Court has declared the arrest of Gameskraft’s three founders illegal and ordered their immediate release from prison. Justice M. Nagaprasanna allowed the writ petitions filed by the founders—Deepak Singh, Prithvi Raj Singh, and Vikas Taneja—ruling that the central agency’s aggressive actions were “contrary to law” and completely bypassed mandatory statutory protections. The Core Ruling: Why the High Court Intervened The High Court’s decision to strike down the arrests hinges heavily on procedural failures by the ED under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) . Senior counsel representing the founders argued that the ED’s move was entirely pre-determined. The agency initiated searches at the founders’ Gurgaon residences on May 7, concluding them on May 8. However, defense teams proved that the “grounds of arrest” and internal log entries were recorded before the search operations were actually finished. The court emphasized that Section 19 strictly requires an officer to form a “reason to believe” bas…

Karnataka High Court says arrest of Gameskraft founders was illegal The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday declared the arrest of Gameskraft founders Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja, and Prithviraj Singh by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) to be illegal and directed their release from jail[Deepak Singh v Directorate of Enforcement and connected matters]. JusticeM Nagaprasannapronounced the verdict today. "Writ petitions are allowed. Arrest of these petitioners is declared contrary to law. As a consequence thereof the petitioners shall be set at liberty forthwith. The Registry is directed to intimate the prison authorities to enable release of these petitioners. (Writ petition) allowed bearing in mind the observations made." Detailed judgment awaited. Deepak Singh, Vikas Taneja, and Prithviraj Singh are directors of Gameskraft Technologies and RummyCulture Technologies. These founders were arrested from Gurgaon in May this year and were thereafter remanded to the ED's custody in Bengaluru. Their arrest was made in connection with a money laundering case tied to three first information reports (FIRs) registered in Telangana in early 2026. The ED had alleged that Gameskraft operated…