Courts can't halt gaming law notification: Centre

ONCE LAW HAS PRESIDENTIAL ASSENT, COURT CANNOT STOP ITS NOTIFICATION OR ENFORCEMENT, SG TELLS HIGH COURT

- Ayesha Arvind

BENGALURU: The Union government on Saturday made clear that courts cannot stand in the way of the new Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, coming into force, stressing that once a law has secured Presidential assent, its notification is a “constitutional function” beyond judicial restraint.

Defending the legislation, solicitor general (SG) of India, Tushar Mehta told the Karnataka high court that the Act's passage through Parliament and assent by the President left no scope for its implementation to be halted merely because “one particular individual was aggrieved”.

When the court asked whether notification of the new Act was imminent, Mehta said it could happen soon.

"I don't have instructions (from the union government) but it (the Act) might be notified soon," Mehta told a bench of justice BM Shyama Prasad.