REEJA Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has approached this Court, seeking inter alia, a direction to the respondents to allow her to open her shop and to sell the tickets of online lotteries of the States of Sikkim, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. The brief facts of the case, as stated by the petitioner, are the following:

(2.) The petitioner is running a retail outlet of M/s. Playwin, which is the sole selling agent of M/s. Tashi Dalek Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd., M/s. Ultra Entertainment Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and M/s. Kenlot Gaming Solutions Pvt. Ltd., who are the marketing agents of online lottery, tickets of the States of Sikkim, Karnataka and Arunachal Pradesh. The petitioner was running the said retail outlet from 30.8.2002. The room, housing the retail outlet, was also being used for the sale of packaged drinking water Bislery and Valvoline Lubricants, Oils Filters etc. The State of Kerala, by framing the Kerala State Lotteries and Online Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2003, tried to regulate the lotteries of other States.

(3.) The said Rules were challenged before this Court, by the above said marketing agents, by filing W. P. (C) No. 35368/03. Though the learned Single Judge dismissed the said W. P. (C), a Division Bench of this Court, by Ext. P1 order dated 19.12.2003 in W. A. No. 2044/03, stayed the operation of sub-r.(3) and (10) of R.24 of the above mentioned Rules. Sub-r.(3) provides that the sale of tickets of a lottery of another State without the permission of the State Government, is prohibited. Sub-r.(10) enables the State Government to temporarily suspend the sale of tickets of the lotteries run by other States. Later, the Division Bench dismissed the said appeal by judgment dated 28.4.2004.