Staff Reporter
Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court (HC) today directed the state government to issue direction to all the District Commissioners (DCs), including the Superintendents of Police (SPs) of all the districts of Assam, not to grant any permission to any individual or organisation for organizing offline or online lotteries. In case any such lotteries are found to be organized illegally, the concerned SP is to take immediate action against the organizers in accordance with law.
The bench of Chief Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice N. Unni Krishnan Nair issued the order while hearing a public interest litigation petition (Case No. PIL/29/2024) that raised the issue of illegal organisation of offline and online lottery in various districts of Assam.
H.K. Das, the Amicus Curiae, informed the court that as per the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010, only the state government can organise a lottery, that too, on certain terms and conditions. It was submitted that in many of the cases, applications are moved by the individuals seeking permission from the DC concerned for organizing offline or online lottery, and some of the DCs are granting the said permission without any authority.
Das pointed out that since the festive season has commenced and there is every likelihood that illegal offline or online lotteries will be organized in many places of Assam by obtaining permission from the DCs or authorities concerned, a strict prohibitory order is required to be passed by the court so that poor people of Assam may not be duped.
R.K. Borah, Additional Senior Government Advocate, Assam, submitted that he has received responses from twenty-five DCs in Assam, and all of them have informed him that no such permission has ever been granted by them to any such person for organising an offline or online lottery.
The bench noted that till date no response has been filed on behalf of the state to counter this PIL, although counter affidavits have been filed on behalf of some of the DCs. The court asked the state government to file its response by way of counter affidavit stating as to how the government is proceeding to tackle the illegal organisation of offline and online lotteries in the state, granting six weeks' time to the government to do so.
In the meantime, the bench directed the state government to issue directions to all the DCs and the SPs of all the districts not to grant any permission to any individual or organisation for organizing such lotteries, and SPs are to take immediate action against the organizers of any such offline or online lotteries being organized illegally. Moreover, the bench directed the said directions to be issued by the state government within a period of one week from today.
The bench listed the matter for further hearing after six weeks.
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