The court upheld the legality of recreational activities in clubs, conditioned on strict adherence to regulatory safeguards to prevent unlawful gaming.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner is before this Court seeking for the following reliefs:

(a) Issue a writ of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction, directing the respondents not to insist upon the petitioner to obtain licence for the play of games such as (Skill) Chess, Carom, Snooker, Gym, Reading Room (Library), Fantastic-3, (PLAYED WITH 3 DICE), Dice Ball, Dart games, Electronics games, Table Tennis, Cards (Rummy) Video Game, Poker and other indoor and outdoor games for the benefit of its members and also social service and etc., being run under the name and style of M/s. ANNAMMA SPORTS AND CULTURAL MEMBERS ASSOCIATION, No.186/6 (16), Sirur Park Road, Sheshadripuram, Next to Nataraja Theater, Bangalore 560020, either under the KARNATAKA POLICE ACT under the Licencing and Controlling of the place of Public Amusement Order, Bangalore City;

(b) Issue such other and further reliefs that this Hon'ble Court deem fit to grant under the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice.

2. Learned AGA on instructions submits that the preparatory steps have been taken by the petitioner for operationalising the cultural association but the same is yet to commence.

3. Submission of learned counsel for the petitioner is that everything is ready for the cultural association to function and that the petitioner will comply with any direction that may be issued by this Court.

4. In further, both the counsels submit that, the above matter is covered by the order dated 22.02.2016 passed in W.P. No. 101799/2016 (GM-Police) in Srimanth Ramchandrarao Appasaheb Club, Jamakhandi Vs. State of Karnataka.

5. In view of the settled legal position governing recreational clubs and gaming activities, the writ petition is disposed of subject to the following mandatory terms, safeguards, and regulatory conditions, which shall be scrupulously complied with by the petitioner without any default:

6. Surveillance, CCTV Installation & Data Preservation

6.1. Installation of CCTV System: The petitioner shall, within a period of six (6) weeks from the date of receipt of this order, install fully functional Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras at:

6.1.1. All points of ingress and egress;

6.1.2. All common areas; and

6.1.3. All locations where any game or recreational activity is carried on by the members.

6.2. The CCTV system shall be equipped with date-and-time stamping and shall remain in continuous working condition at all material times.

6.3. The CCTV footage shall be securely preserved for a minimum continuous period of fifteen (15) days.

6.4. The petitioner shall produce such CCTV footage forthwith before the jurisdictional police or any authorised officer whenever lawfully called upon to do so.

6.5. Any tampering, disabling, destruction, alteration, or failure to preserve CCTV footage shall constitute a grave violation and shall invite action in accordance with law.

7. Membership Identity, Verification & Access Control

7.1. Issuance of Identity Cards: The petitioner shall issue tamper-proof identity cards to every member, containing:

7.1.1. Photograph;

7.1.2. Unique membership number;

7.1.3. Validity period; and

7.1.4. Club seal and security authentication.

7.2. Every member shall carry the identity card at all times while present in the premises and shall produce the same upon demand before the jurisdictional police during any raid, inspection, surveillance, or verification.

7.3. The petitioner shall maintain a digitally updated membership register, which shall be produced for police verification whenever required.

8. Absolute Prohibition on Entry of Non-M