Gujarat HC Once Again Adjourns Poker Matter to 5th May

A division bench of the Gujarat High Court comprising of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice AJ Shastri could once again not hear letters patent appeals on the legality of poker in the state and the skill element involved in the game . The new date when the matter is likely to be listed for hearing is 5th May, 2020, when the matter might be heard by a new division bench of the court.

Earlier, the High Court had adjourned were scheduled for arguments on 8th January, 2020 to 17th February, 2020 and observed that daily hearings would be conducted from that date to expedite hearings in the matter, and that the matter could be mentioned to be taken up for hearing.

Again, on 17th February, the matter could not be taken up and was adjourned to 9th March, when it was once again adjourned by two months to May 2020.

The hearings on letters patent appeals filed by Indian Poker Association Secretary KN Suresh, Dominance Games Private Limited, Aman Chhabra and Hotel Ramada, Ahmedabad against a December 2017 single judge bench’s order of the High Court, ruling poker to be a game of chance have been pending for over two and a half years, with little progress and lack of clarity as to by when any decision on the matter would be likely.