SURESH KUMAR BAHRI Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under Section 482 CrPC.

(2.) THE police is prosecuting the applicants who are Managing Directors of a Private Ltd. Company styled "Lords Mutual Benefit Financial (P) Ltd.", Bareilly, under Section 294-A IPG for floating a lottery without the permission of the State Government. This section punishes the person who keeps any office or place for the purpose of drawing any lottery. This section also punishes the person who publishes any proposal of drawing lottery. THE police has submitted charge sheet against the applicants. THE contention of the applicants is that they have not floated any lottery, that they have floated four super savings schemes, that the maximum number of members in any scheme is 2000, that the terms and conditions of membership of this scheme do not amount to drawing of lottery and that as such they have not committed any offence under Section 294-A IPC. THE applicants further alleged that before starting the schemes they applied for approval of the schemes to the Reserve Bank and that Reserve Bank raised no objection. THE applicants have filed a form of the application for membership on the back of which terms and conditions of one of the schemes are printed. Sri M. L. Dwivedi, Assistant Special Intelligence Officer, Special Branch Intelligence Department, has filed counter affidavit. He has attempted to show in this affidavit that the alleged scheme amounts to lottery and, therefore, the applicants are liable to be punished under Section 294-A. In this affidavit he has referred to G. O. No. 3176/5-751-1969, dated 15-12- 1969 sent secretly to the District Magistrates of Uttar Pradesh. A copy of this G. O. is Annexure 1 to this counter affidavit. This G. O. contains instructions to the District Magistrates. It is not a part of law. THErefore, the case has to be decided, not on the basis of the instructions contained in the G. O. but on the basis of the provisions of law contained in Section 294-A IPC.

(3.) BEFORE indicating the meaning of the term lottery which is not defined in the Indian Penal Code or in any other Act, it is appropriate to reproduce the relevant terms and conditions here :-