BANGALORE: A week after the Karnataka High Court passed an interim order staying a notification on banning lotteries in Karnataka, the State Government on Tuesday filed an application urging the court to vacate the stay.

The State filed its statement of objections to petitions by Arunachal Pradesh and the All India Federation of Gaming and Allied Industries challenging the March 27 notification banning the conduct and sale of lotteries in Karnataka and making it into a "lottery-free" State.

A single judge on April 17, in an interim order, stayed a notification by the State Government banning lotteries.

The State said the decision to ban lottery was first made when the State's budget was presented on March 16.

Notification

Subsequently, the State issued a notification under the provisions of the Lottery (Regulation) Act on the ban of lotteries.

With this, the sale of all lotteries — paper, internet and online, had been banned.

In its statement of objections, the State had defended the ban on lottery and said it was a policy matter.

The petitioners who had opposed the ban claimed that lakhs of people, including the physically challenged, were dependent on lotteries and the ban would affect their livelihood.

`Infrastructure created'

Arunachal Pradesh had said that it was a small State and its main source of revenue was organising lotteries. It said a large infrastructure in Bangalore had been set up for distributing lotteries and that it would suffer irrepairable harm if an interim order staying the notification was not given.

Both the petitioners claimed that the notification was illegal and that it violated Articles 14, 301 and 304 of the Constitution.

Justice Ashok B. Hinchigeri adjourned hearing on the case to Thursday.

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