Tamil Nadu: Governor clears Bill on online gambling hours after House adopts resolution against him

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Monday gave his assent to a Bill banning online gambling hours after state Assembly adopted a resolution urging the president and the Union government to instruct him to clear Bills within a timeframe, reported NDTV.

The Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Online Gaming and Regulation of Online Games Act, 2022, proposes that those who participate in online gambling could be fined Rs 5,000, or be sentenced to jail for up to three months, or both. Those who advertise such games could be jailed for up to a year, while persons organising them could be imprisoned for three years.

Ravi had rejected the Bill last month saying that the Tamil Nadu Assembly had “no legislative competence” to frame it.

While moving the resolution against the governor on Monday, Chief Minister MK Stalin said that Ravi’s public statement on Bills that have been passed in the House and sent for his assent was against his job, oath of office, the interest of the state’s administration, established traditions and also against the Constitution.

Ravi’s comments reduce the stature of the state Assembly and belittle the supremacy of legislature in a Parliamentary democracy, Stalin said.

The resolution read: “This august House records with deep regret the action of the Hon’ble governor of Tamil Nadu in indefinitely...

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