Feature
SC’s 2G bench to hear Sun TV’s assets attachment case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday did hear Sun TV’s plea challenging the Enforcement Directorate’s order attaching its assets worth Rs.742.6 crores for alleged money laundering, saying that it was for its special 2G bench to decide whether it was a part of 2G case or not.
An apex court bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C. Pant asked the special 2G bench to take a call on whether attachment of Sun TV Network properties by the ED by its March 31 order came within the ambit of the 2G cases.
The matter will come up for hearing before the 2G bench on Monday.
The Sun TV Network was contending that the attachment of its properties was not covered by the 2G cases and sought an instant hearing, contending that it feared the execution of the attachment order passed by the ED.
The court referred the matter to 2G bench, after it was told that the hearing on the attachment order scheduled for today has been adjourned till July 21 and the apprehension of any coercive action by ED stands abated.
The ED by its March 31 order had attached assets worth Rs.742.6 crore belonging to former union telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanithi Maran and the latter’s wife Kaveri Kalanithi in the Aircel-Maxis case.
The Sun TV is controlled by the Maran’s family and the attachment of their assets are rooted in alleged money laundering probe in Aircel-Maxis case.
Sun TV had moved the Madras High Court against the attachment order but it refused to interfere with it saying that apex court was seized of the matter and has barred other courts from entertaining any plea rooted in 2G matters.
The Enforcement Directorate had registered a case in 2012 taking cognisance of the case earlier filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The matter relates to sale of Aircel to Maxis owned by T. Ananda Krishnan in 2006 wherein Aircel’s original owner C. Sivasankaran had alleged that he was pressured to sell Aircel as it was denied licences.
The CBI had alleged quid pro quo, saying in return the Malaysian company had invested crores in Sun TV owned by Maran family.
Maran brothers have maintained that Aircel-MaxisAmatter did not fall in the ambit of 2G scam involving the cancellation of 122 licences that were granted in an arbitrary manner.
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.
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
Cheers and Cheers: Barzilla’s Joyful Ode to Inclusivity and Celebration
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
IPL 20202 UPDATE: KXIP vs MI IPL Dream11 Team Prediction for Today Match, Update Point Table of all Team.
In a Live debate AAP leader Syed Asad Abbas hurls abuses to BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
‘India’s Most Wanted’ trailer out Arjun Kapoor on hunt of Osama-Bin-Laden
Time to move on: Sonakshi on Shatrughan’s joining Congress
