Bombay HC tells Maharashtra to take a stand on 40-year-old law on casinos

The Bombay High Court on Friiday asked Maharashtra government to file an affidavit within four weeks in reply to a PIL demanding that a four-decade-old law, which makes it legal to run casinos in the state, be brought into force.

A bench headed by Justice VM Kanade asked the state government to take a stand on the issue and inform the court next month whether it intends to implement this law.

According to the petitioner, Jay Satya, a law student, the Maharashtra Casinos (Control and Tax) Act was passed by the Assembly and published in the government gazette in July 1976. However, it has not been notified yet.

Satya found out through the Right to Information (RTI) that the Act had received the Governor's assent on July 22, 1976. In December last, he wrote a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis requesting him to notify it but there was no response.

The Act provides for licensing of casinos, permitting certain types of casino games, taxation of the money paid or agreed to be paid by the participants by way of stakes or bets, etc.

Goa and Sikkim are the only two states which currently allow casinos, the PIL says, alleging that government of Maharashtra has "arbitrarily and unreasonably" kept in abeyance the Act by not notifying it.