InPetition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C) No.19366/2023 -SC- Supreme Court grants stay on Karnataka High Court’s decision on online gaming
Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala & Justice Manoj Misra [06-09-2023]

Read Order: Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (Hqs) & Ors V. Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited & Ors

Chahat Varma

New Delhi, September 8, 2023: The Supreme Court has issued a stay order on the Karnataka High Court's decision, which had previously determined that online rummy and other online games were not subject to taxation as betting or gambling.

A three-judge bench of Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala & Justice Manoj Misra has directed that the Additional Solicitor General representing the Union of India and the counsel representing Gameskraft, to file a common compilation of judgments, statutes, and rules that will be referenced during the hearing. Both parties are also required to submit written submissions.

During the proceedings, the Additional Solicitor General also brought to the Court's attention a decision of a three-judge bench in the case of Skill Lotto Solutions Private Limited vs. Union of India & Ors. [LQ/SC/2020/815], emphasizing that the way this judgment was distinguished in paragraph 7 of the impugned judgment was a matter of serious concern.

The court has scheduled the Special Leave Petition for hearing on October 10, 2023.