Rajasthan High Court
Saahil Nalwaya S/O Vimal Kumar ... vs State Of Rajasthan on 22 July, 2021
Bench: Indrajit Mahanty, Satish Kumar Sharma
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
BENCH AT JAIPUR
D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 2026/2021
Saahil Nalwaya S/o Vimal Kumar Nalwaya, Aged About 25 Years,
R/o G-3, Divya Jyoti Complex, New Bhupalpura, Girwa, Udaipur,
Rajasthan
----Petitioner
Versus
1. State Of Rajasthan, Through The Chief Secretary,
Government Of Rajasthan, State Of Rajasthan,
Government Secretariat, Jaipur-302005.
2. Federation Of Indian Fantasy Sports (Fifs), Through Its
Secretary, Innova, Regal Building, 69, Connaught Place,
New Delhi - 110001.
----Respondents
For Petitioner(s) : Ms. Vijaya T through VC
Mr. Sanjay Srivastava
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Atul Nanda, Senior Advocate
through VC
Mr. Sandeep Pathak &
Mr. Sandeep Taneja
HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SATISH KUMAR SHARMA
Order
22/07/2021
1. Heard learned counsel for the respective parties.
2. This petition has been filed seeking the following relief(s):-
"(a) To regulate or prohibit the offering and playing in
the State of Rajasthan of any online fantasy game and
other online games of mere skill by putting money at
stake in expectation of winning;
(b) To prohibit offering and playing in the State of
Rajasthan of any online gaming not amounting to game
of mere skill by putting money at stake in expectation of
winning;
(c) Any other or further order as this Hon'ble Court
may deem just and expedient may also be passed."
(2 of 3) [CW-2026/2021]
3. Respondent No.2, Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS)
have filed reply and relied upon various judgments of various
Courts in India and have asserted that it has been consistently
held that online fantasy sports are games of skills distinguished
from gambling/betting and enjoy protection under Article 19(1)(g)
of the Constitution of India. Copies of the Draft Self Regulations
Guidelines issued by the Niti Aayog as well as research conducted
by the IIM Bangalore have also been relied upon and placed on
record in order to establish their assertion that making teams on a
fantasy sports platform demonstrates a higher range of skill than
what is required by a mutual fund manager to manage the mutual
fund portfolio.
4. Having heard learned counsel for the respective parties
and their pleadings, it is clear that the petitioners have sought for
directions to the State Government to make appropriate
Legislation to prohibit all sorts of online gaming activities,
notwithstanding whether they are games of mere skill or games of
chance with more emphasis on online fantasy sports. All these
prayers were considered and decided by this Court in D.B.Civil
Writ Petition No.20779/2019 (Ravindra Singh Chaudhary
Vs. Union of India & Ors.) vide order dated 16.10.2020. In
essence, the present writ petition is an attempt of reviewing this
judgment referred to hereinabove, which has been passed by this
Court by placing reliance on various judgments rendered by the
Hon'ble Supreme Court.
(3 of 3) [CW-2026/2021]
5. We are, therefore, of the view that offering of online
fantasy sports in accordance with the Charter of the FIFS has
already been judicially recognized as a business and consequently,
entitled to protection under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of
India and the prayer seeking directions to the State Government
to prohibit the same would be opposed to Article 14 and 19(1)(g)
of the Constitution of India.
6. Accordingly, the present matter is covered by the
aforesaid judgment and the petition stands dismissed in terms of
the judgment passed by this Court in the case of Ravindra Singh
Chaudhary (supra).
(SATISH KUMAR SHARMA),J (INDRAJIT MAHANTY),CJ
KAMLESH KUMAR /
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