A division bench of the Gujarat High Court comprising Chief Justice R. Subhash Reddy and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi once again adjourned a clutch of petitions relating to the legality of the game of poker. The letters patent appeals filed by KN Suresh; Hotel Ramada Ahmedabad; Dominance Games Pvt. Ltd.; Aman Chabbra and others were not heard and are now slated to come up for arguments on 15th October, 2018.
The original proceedings were initiated by Indian Poker Association (IPA) secretary KN Suresh in 2017 before a single judge bench of the Gujarat High Court. Suresh, in his petition had claimed that police had in an unwarranted manner interfered in the game of poker conducted at YMCA club and further that the police was wrong in giving a written response that poker is a game of chance.
On 4th December 2017, a single judge bench of the High Court comprising of Justice Rajesh Shukla, while deciding on petitions filed by Suresh and eleven other interested parties, ruled that the game of poker does not involve skill and falls within the ambit of gambling.
Subsequently, Suresh and other parties filed a letters patent appeal before a two-judge bench of the High Court challenging the single judge’s order. The hearing on the appeals have since then not seen substantial progress and have been adjourned without significant arguments on at least ten occasions. The matter was once again not heard yesterday and adjourned to next month.
It now remains to be seen whether the arguments will be heard on 15th October or if there will be further delays in deciding the matter.