The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Ban on lotteries: final hearing posted to May 4

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 27, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Ban on lotteries: final hearing posted to May 4

Staff Reporter

`Any stay on lottery ban would amount to a stay on Budget'

BANGALORE: The State Government on Thursday contended that any stay on the ban on lotteries would amount to a stay on the Budget.

Making these submissions before the court, the statement of objections and in the application for vacating the interim stay on ban on lotteries, the Government said the coalition partners — the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (S) — had in their election manifesto spoken about banning lotteries and making Karnataka a lottery-free State. Besides, the ban had been announced in the State Budget and subsequently passed by both the Houses.

The State said lottery was gambling and cited a Supreme Court ruling in the B.R. Enterprises case to make this point. It said at the time it had banned lotteries, there were 96 to 98 draws every day and 33,700 lottery draws in a year. It debunked the claim of Arunachal Pradesh that it had set up an extensive network of lottery agents, vendors, distributors, offices and godowns.

It said lotteries were banned in 17 States and that the ban was legal and as per the provisions of the law. Two former Advocates-General, R.N. Narasimha Murthy and B.V. Acharya, contested the State's claim and said the ban was illegal and that the State had no jurisdiction to pass such an executive order.

Justice Ashok Hinchigeri, who is hearing the application for vacating the interim stay, directed clubbing of all similar petitions and posted them to May 4 for final hearing.

Food poisoning

The Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA), under the auspices of the High Court, has taken note of the food poisoning of inmates of the Central Jail in Belgaum. The KSLSA under the chairmanship of V. Gopala Gowda has written a letter to the authorities, including the Department of Prisons, on the issue.

The authority says it was shocked to note reports appearing in the media about food poisoning and said it is the duty of the department to provide clean and hygienic food.

Disposed of

The court disposed of an appeal by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) against an order of a single judge on the construction of an alignment road as part of the Bangalore-Mysore Corridor (expressway).

A Division Bench comprising Justice Anand Byrareddy and Justice N. Ananda passed the order after NICE said the single judge had not passed any order on the alignment of the road either over or around the lake, saying that a Division Bench decision on a similar matter in a public interest litigation (PIL) petition had been reserved.

The Government and some landowners of Gottigere contended that the road should be built on the lake as any change in the alignment could harm the water body.

The Bench said it would be appropriate if all similar matters were listed together and asked the single judge to refer the matter to the Division Bench headed by the Chief Justice.

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