Feature
Supreme Court to finish hearings on triple talaq in May
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today said that a constitution bench will hear the plea challenging the validity of the triple talaq, “nikah halala” and polygamy among the Muslims from May 11th.
Saying that initially the hearing would take place on May 11 and 12, the bench of Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said that it would then continue from May 15 till 19.
Chief Justice Khehar said that the hearing could also take place on the weekends-May 13 and 14 (Saturday and Sunday), as judges have consented to sit on weekends.
On the time to be taken in the hearing of triple talaq, the Chief Justice Khehar told the lawyers to draw a time frame for the arguments, saying that if such a time frame could be set during the hearing of the challenge to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, why not in this matter.
“If time frame can be fixed in NJAC, then why not in this case,” Chief Justice Khehar asked the lawyers.
The top court on February 16, while fixing the hearing on triple talaq for today (Thursday), had asked the lawyers representing the two sides to submit their issues backed by short reasons and judgments that they would be relying on to the Attorney General.
The court had also urged the lawyers of both sides to split the issues they wished to address among themselves, so that the hearing could be completed within the allotted time.
There were some rumblings amongst the lawyers after Chief Justice Khehar said that there would be three constitution benches that would hold hearing on three important matters-triple talaq, Whatsapp and on Assam migrants.
Observing that if the judges were ready to work during the summer vacation, then why not the lawyers, Chief Justice Khehar said: “If we don’t do it (the hearing) now, it will not happen for years. (Then) You don’t blame us.”
Finding that some lawyers were apparently reluctant, Chief Justice Khehar said: “There is no (summer) vacation (in which) I have not sat (in a bench to hear matters). You (lawyers) want to work together, fine. You don’t want to work together, fine. We are happy to enjoy vacations.”
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal made it clear that he was not comfortable with the simultaneous hearing by three constitution benches, suggesting that one bench could follow the other.
“I did not know three benches will sit together. It should be one after the other,” Sibal told the court, adding that he was withdrawing his consent to the hearing of the Whatsapp case.
“You can withdraw from everything,” the bench told him.
A hearing on a matter during summer vacation takes place only when lawyers appearing for it give their consent.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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