The Gujarat High Court (Ahmedabad Bench) has emphasized that the element of profit or gain is an essential prerequisite to attract penal provisions under the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887. The fundamental legal principle established is that gambling in a private apartment does not constitute a punishable offence under the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887, unless the premises strictly fall within the statutory definition of a “common gaming house.”
The Court clarified that the indispensable ingredient to attract these penal provisions is the derivation of profit or gain by the person owning, occupying, or keeping the house, specifically by way of a charge for the use of the premises or instruments of gaming. In the complete absence of allegations or evidence demonstrating this element of profit or gain, the FIR and consequential criminal proceedings are liable to be quashed.
A Single Judge Bench of Justice P. M. Raval noted that the entire chargesheet and the FIR lacked any evidence to suggest that the raided house was being used for the profit or gain of the person owning or occupying it. The Court observed that merely playing cards in a private house, even for money, does not automatically convert the premises into a common gaming house.
Furthermore, the Court highlighted that the competent authority issued the special search warrant within a mere 23 minutes of receiving the telephonic message, indicating that the mandatory inquiry was entirely perfunctory. The authority failed to arrive at an objective satisfaction or establish good grounds to suspect that the private apartment was being used as a common gaming house before authorizing the raid.
Briefly, the police received an anonymous telephonic tip late at night alleging that gambling activities were taking place at a private residence located at Shaligram-2 in Prahladnagar. Acting on this information, the raiding party entered the premises and found five individuals seated around a dining table with playing cards and coins of varying colours. Consequently, an FIR was registered against the individuals under the provisions of the Gujarat Prevention of Gambling Act, 1887. The accused individuals subsequently approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR and the consequential criminal proceedings initiated against them.
