Howly Raas Mohotsav Udjapan Samity and Anr v. The State of Assam and 3 Ors

PageoNo.#o1/3 GAHC010223372024 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/5449/2024o HOWLYoRAASoMOHOTSAVoUDJAPANoSAMITYoANDoANRo HOWLYoRAASoMOHOTSAVoUDJAPANoSAMITYo,o REP.oBYoITSoSECRETARYo,oMR.oAMARENDRAoPATHAK,oAGE-59oYRS,o S/O-oLATEoNoPATHAK,o R/O-WARDoNO-3,o MAIRAMARA,o P.OoANDoP.S-oHOWLY,o BARPETA,oASSAM,oPIN-781316 2:oMR.oAMARENDRAoPATHAK oS/O-oLATEoNoPATHAK o R/O-WARDoNO-3 o MAIRAMARA o P.OoANDoP.S-oHOWLY o BARPETA oASSAM oPIN-781316oANDoPRESENTLYoTHEoSECRETARYo o HOWLYoRAASoMOHOTSAVoUDJAPANoSAMITo VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoANDo3oORSo REP.oBYoTHEoCHIEFoSECRETARYoTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM,oDISPUR,o GUWAHATI-06 2:THEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECRETARY oTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oGENERALoADMINISTRATIONoDEPARTMENT Page No.# 2/3 DISPUR GUWAHATI-06 ASSAM 3:THE DISTRICT COMMISSIONER BARPETA ASSAM 4:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE BARPETA MUSLIMPATTY JOTI GAON PIN-781301 DIST-BARPETA ASSAM For the petitioners : Mr. K.N. Choudhury, Sr. Advocate Assisted by Mr. N. Baruah, Advocate For the respondents : Mr. D. Nath, Sr. Govt. Advocate, Assam for Respondent Nos.1, 3 & 4 Mr. A. Phukan, Advocate For the respondent No.2 – B E F O R E – HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. VIJAY BISHNOI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE N. UNNI KRISHNAN NAIR 25-10-2024 (Vijay Bishnoi, C.J.) This writ petition is filed by the petitioners under Article 226 of the Constitution of India essentially with the prayer to modify the order dated

03.10.2024 passed in PIL No.29/2024 whereby this Court has issued direction to the State authorities to take action against any off-line/online lottery found to be organised illegally in the State of Assam. Prima facie we are of the view that for modification or vacation of the Page No.# 3/3 order passed by this Court while exercising writ jurisdiction, the appropriate course is to move an application by the aggrieved party for modification or vacation of the order. At this stage, Mr. K.N. Choudhury, learned senior counsel submits that he may be allowed to withdraw this writ petition. However, he seeks liberty for the petitioners to approach the authorities concerned in the State Government with the prayer to allow them to organise lottery/lucky coupon draw at Howly Raas Mohotsav organised by the Howly Raas Mohotsav Udjapan Samity. In view of the above, this writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn. However, the petitioners are at liberty to move appropriate representation before the authorities concerned in the State Government seeking permission to organise lottery/lucky coupon draw on the eve of Howly Raas Mohotsav. If any such application is moved by the petitioners, it is expected that the State Government will consider and decide the same expeditiously taking into consideration the provisions of The Lotteries (Regulation) Act, 1998 and The Lotteries (Regulation) Rules, 2010.

JUDGE CHIEF JUSTICE Comparing Assistant