Goa: Barring local residents from entering casinos by the Goa government is 'well-founded' and not violative of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, the Bombay High Court bench in Goa has said. The Court was hearing a petition filed by a local lawyer, who had argued that the Goa government decision in February last year to ban domiciled Goans from entering casinos was discriminatory and violative of Constitutional provisions.

 "Gambling is totally prohibited, but by way of some exceptions, a certain class of places and people are exempted from such prohibition. The object of the State is naturally to prevent the person domiciled in Goa to be lured into such chance games and to suffer poverty and mental trauma for their families. The classification is founded with the object of preventing the spread of gambling and transforming the exception into a rule," a High Court bench comprising Justices MS Sonak and MS Jawalkar said in the order on Thursday. "The classification between tourists, who come to Goa for a few days to entertain themselves, and locals domiciled in Goa is based on an intelligible differentia (reasonable basis for differentiation). Section 2(7) defines tourists quite clearly and excludes persons domiciled or permanently residing in Goa," Court also said. The Court also said that unlike tourists, locals would have "much greater opportunities" to visit casinos and said that "there is nothing arbitrary or discriminatory in the object or the classification".

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