On Monday, the Madhya Pradesh High Court granted the Madhya Pradesh government three months to develop a law regulating online gambling in the state, reported LiveLaw. The matter is being considered by a committee of senior state-level secretaries. This time period will also be used to get the law cleared by the state assembly, submitted the Madhya Pradesh government. The proceedings also saw the Indian government's counsel inform the Court that gambling is a state subject, one that the Madhya Pradesh government is required to legislate on. A single-Judge Bench comprising Justice Vivek Agarwal heard the submission during a bail hearing. The matter will be next heard on March 13, 2023. Earlier this year, a 26-year-old man was charged for allegedly withdrawing Rs. 8.51 lakh from his maternal grandfather's pension account to play "online satta of [the] IPL". The man was penalised under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, namely Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing property), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using a forged document), and 34 (acts done by several persons to further a common intention). The Court granted him bail in July provided he deposits 50% of the withdrawn amount before the trial court within 15 days. The Court had taken suo motu cognisance of online gambling while granting bail, calling for wider interrogation of the legality of "online gambling schemes" by the Central and Madhya Pradesh governments. In particular, the Court focused on whether these games "are just and correct and in…
