Lottery: Isaac refutes charges

Source: The Hindu

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has accused the Congress and its allies of having come up with ‘totally flimsy and baseless’ allegations regarding the running of out-of-State lotteries in Kerala to cover up the support being extended to the lottery mafia by the Centre.

Dr. Isaac told a news conference here on Wednesday that none of the five allegations raised by the Opposition on Tuesday had any merit as the entire authority to control the lottery trade was vested with the Centre and there were repeated court verdicts tying the State government’s hands.

On whether the State government had the authority to ensure compliance with the Central lottery law, the Finance Minister said that both the Kerala High Court and the Supreme Court had ruled that only the Centre had the authority to ban lotteries under Section 4 of the Central Lottery Act. The Centre had also clarified through its Lottery Rules 2010 that the State government had only the power to inform the Centre about any violation of the law.

Probe conducted

On the question whether M/s Megha Distributors was eligible to be a lottery promoter under the Kerala Tax on Paper Lotteries Act, Dr. Isaac said John Kennedy of Megha Distributors was registered as a promoter in Kerala during the UDF rule. The LDF government had conducted a vigilance investigation and on the basis of that report and in the absence of his formal nomination as promoter by the States concerned, the government had cancelled his registration.

Advance tax

However, the States concerned informed the High Court that he had been designated as their lottery agent in Kerala. The court held that even if there was no such nomination, the State could not refuse advance tax from him. The State government had filed an appeal against this before the Supreme Court.

On the issue whether the State could refuse advance tax, the Minister said here too the Supreme Court had held that the State had no authority to do so. The State government had refused advance from John Rose, representing Arunachal Pradesh, and the High Court had quashed its decision.

Court verdict

Although the State filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against this, the court ordered that if the Arunachal Pradesh government issued a letter recognising him as its agent, the State must accept the advance tax. The High Court had also asked the government to accept advance tax with interest in another case filed by John Kennedy, who wanted to pay advance tax to operate Bhutan lottery in addition to Sikkim lottery in the State.

When asked whether the State could refuse advance tax on additional draws, Dr. Isaac said here too the State had no right of refusal as the High Court had held that the registration was for the promoter and not for draws. The State government would clamp down on the lottery mafia if it were given adequate powers to do so, the Finance Minister said.