Supreme Court Takes Charge of Gambling Platform PILs

The Supreme Court of India has assumed control over four PILs concerning opinion trading platforms accused of promoting illegal gambling. The decision involves relocating petitions from high courts in Bombay, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh to the Supreme Court. The petitions address varied issues, including legislative aspects of gambling.

The Supreme Court of India has taken the unprecedented step of assuming control over four Public Interest Litigations (PILs) that scrutinize opinion trading platforms alleged to be promoting illegal betting. Opinion trading platforms are compared to online marketplaces where users can trade predictions on real-world events, typically in a binary format.

A bench composed of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan has instructed the transfer of all relevant documents from the high courts of Bombay, Gujarat, and Chhattisgarh to the Supreme Court to consolidate the proceedings. Senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi emphasized that opinions differ on whether these PILs should be centralized or handled independently, particularly concerning the petition originating from the Chhattisgarh High Court.

Senior advocate Gaurav Aggarwal, representing the original petitioner Sumit Kapurbhai Prajapati, argued for the distinct treatment of issues raised in different petitions. Nonetheless, the court's decision indicates a preference for a unified approach in dealing with potential ambiguities in existing legislative frameworks surrounding gambling activities.

(With inputs from agencies.)