Tamil Nadu govt to promulgate 'strong ordinance' against online rummy

In 2021, the state government had enacted a legislation banning online rummy, but it was set aside by the Madras HC

Close on the heels of a 29-year-old woman ending her life after losing money playing online rummy, the Tamil Nadu government on Friday constituted a committee headed by Justice (retired) K Chandru to study the impact of the game on people and suggest a solution to the “social problem.”

Announcing the formation of a committee, Chief Minister M K Stalin said the committee will submit its report in two weeks after which a “strong law” (ordinance) against online rummy "that will serve as an example" for other states will be drafted.

A technical expert from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), Sankararaman, Lakshmi Vijayakumar, founder of Sneha, an NGO involved in prevention of suicide, and ADGP Vinit Dev Wankhede are the members of the committee.

Stalin, in the statement, said the then AIADMK government had passed a law against online rummy in the Tamil Nadu assembly on February 25, 2021 which was struck down by the Madras High Court on August 3, 2021 on the grounds that the legislation was drafted without enough proof and reasons.

“The Government moved an appeal against the High Court order on November 13, 2021 before the Supreme Court which is yet to be heard. Moreover, similar laws drafted in Kerala and Karnataka have also been struck down by High Courts,” Stalin said.

He recalled incidents of people ending their lives after losing money in the game – a 29-year-old woman died by suicide after she lost lakhs of rupees playing the game online. The incident renewed the calls for a “strong legislation” against online rummy following which Stalin chaired a meeting on Thursday.

The committee will look into the financial losses incurred while playing the game, suicidal tendencies of people who lose money, analyse the ill-effects of online rummy through data, and the impact of the advertisements on people to play the game.

“The Committee will submit its report in two weeks. Based on the report to be submitted by the committee and considering the urgency, an ordinance will be promulgated soon. This ordinance will show the way for other states,” Stalin said.