Hariani & Co is advising NUJS Kolkata final year student Jay Sayta on his Bombay high court PIL for the notification of the Maharashtra Casinos (Control & Tax) Act 1976, which legalised casinos, gaming and wagering 38 years ago.

Hariani associate Anirudh Hariani is acting for Sayta who, in a press release, said that the Act can “also ensure that match-fixing and cheating in sport can be curbed by allowing government agencies to monitor betting patterns and take action against suspicious betting patterns” and its non-notification was a “constitutional conundrum”.

FICCI estimates the annual revenues to the government from legalising sports betting to be at least INR 19,000 crores, according to the release.

In his petition Sayta submits:

“If the Legislature of the state has passed a law and the same has received the assent of the Governor, the Executive cannot ignore the intent of the Legislature by not notifying the Act for a very long period, even if it is given the discretion to implement it when it deems fit. At the very least, the Executive is required to apply its mind as to whether the time has come for the enforcement of the Act or not, or whether it intends to enforce the Act at all.”

Jay Sayta Writ Petition Gaming