Petitions challenging TN ordinance banning online gambling dismissed as withdrawn by HC

The batch of PIL petitions challenging the constitutional validity of an ordinance issued by the Tamil Nadu government banning online gambling in the State were dismissed as withdrawn by the first bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday.

When the first bench of Acting Chief Justice T Raja and Justice D Krishnakumar wondered as to how an ordinance, which is yet to be notified as an Act can be challenged, the petitioners opted to withdraw the case with liberty to challenge the same after it becomes an Act. The All India Gaming Federation, by its general secretary Sunil Krishnamurthy and other online games organisers sought to declare the Tamil Nadu Ordinance No 4 of 2022 -- the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Ordinance -- as unconstitutional.

While senior advocates C Aryama Sundaram, Mukul Rohatgi and Satish Parasaran represented the petitioners, another senior lawyer Kabil Sibal defended the State.