Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday informed the MP High Court that it was in the process of introducing legislation to curb online gambling in the state. The statement came after the bench of Justice Vivek Agarwal, observing there was no existing legal framework in the state in this regard, sought both the Centre's and the state's response.
"While it was hearing a bail plea, the Madhya Pradesh High Court took cognizance of the fact that there are no existing laws to regulate online gambling. It had sought response from both the Central and state governments in this issue," Additional Solicitor General Pushpendra Yadav said. "The Centre in its reply stated that according to the second list of the seventh schedule of the Constitution, online gambling was a state matter and that the latter was authorised to introduce legislation in this regard.
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The state government, meanwhile, informed that it was in the process of preparing a bill, which would soon take the form of a law in Madhya Pradesh," the ASG also said. The statement came during a bail plea filed by an accused in a case related to his alleged usage of more than Rs 8.5 lakh for online 'satta', money he procured from the pension account of his maternal grandfather.
The accused Sanat Kumar, a resident of Singrauli district in the state, had filed the plea in response to a case filed last year under sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 34 of the IPC. Furthermore, bail was granted to the accused while the hearing of the case will be conducted on March 13, 2023.
