The Gauhati High Court has issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the conduct of paper lotteries in the State of Mizoram.
The PIL has been filed by one Rajhu Pun. D. Mazumdar, senior counsel on behalf of the petitioner, submited that the State of Mizoram has permitted one of its distributors of paper lotteries to sell paper lottery tickets through online mode i.e. website, mobile application etc. which is in violation of the Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 and the Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010.
The senior counsel further submitted that the action of the State Government has been expressly prohibited by the circular dated 22.01.2019 issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the Government of India.
He further submits that as per the notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs dated 18.07.2018, the State of Mizoram is to acquire Sensitization Testing and Quality Certification directory (STQC) however, without having the said STQC, the State government is conducting its online paper lotteries through the respondent No.8.
The senior counsel submits that this will not only hamper the interest of the public of the state but also lead to several malpractices since the state has no control over the selling of the paper lotteries through online mode since the same is not regulated by the State Government and not as per the Act of 1998 and Rule, 2010, which is severally hampering the interest of the public at large.
The Aizawl Bench of Justice Marli Vankung and Justice N. Unni Krishnan Nair issued notice to the respondents.
The senior counsel has also prayed that an interim order may be passed to stay the selling of lotteries through online mode since RTI reply dated 23.01.2023 clearly indicates that the State government at this stage do not have the required STQ Certification which is a mandatory requirement to sell paper lotteries through online mode.
The Court clarified that the prayer for interim order will be considered on the next date of listing which is 09.09.2024.