The central legal point established in the judgment is that the absence of a common gaming house or public place during the accused's actions led to the conclusion that no offenses were committed under the specified sections of the City Police Act.

JUDGMENT

(Prayer in all the Crl.O.Ps : Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, to call for the records relating to the C.C.No.87 of 2023, Metropolitan Magistrate No.XVII, Saidapet, Chennai and quash the same by allowing this Criminal Original Petition.)

Common Order:

These petitions have been filed seeking to quash the proceedings in C.C.No.87 of 2023 pending on the file of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate No.XVII, Saidapet, Chennai.

2. Heard Mr.M.Mohamed Riyaz, learned Counsel for the petitioners in all the cases and Mr.A.Damodaran, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the first respondent in all the cases.

3. The Final Report has been filed by the respondent Police for the offences under Sections 45 and 46 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act, 1888.

4. The issue involved in this case is squarely covered by the earlier order passed by the Madurai Bench of this Court in Crl.O.P.(MD).No.7087 of 2017, dated 25.10.2019. The relevant portions are extracted hereunder:-

"5. The only issue that requires consideration of this Court is whether the gaming with cards by the accused persons inside the property belonging to A1, will attract the offence under Section 12 of the Tamilnadu Gaming Act. It will be relevant to take note of the judgments cited by the learned counsel for the petitioners. In the Judgment passed in M.James Arockia Samy Vs. The Inspector of Police, Aaravayal Police Station, Devakottai Taluk, Sivagangai District, this Court held as follows:

"7. In the case on hand, the place where the alleged occurrence is taken place, is not a common gaming house as defined under Section 3 of the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, 1930. It is also relevant to consider Sections and 9 of the Tamil Nadu Gaming Act, 1930, which reads as follows :

"8. Penalty for opening etc., a common gaming-house: whoever opens, keeps or uses or permits to be used any common gaming house or conducts or assists in conducting the business of any common gaming house or advances or furnishes money for gaming therein, shall be liable on conviction to fine not exceeding five hundred rupees, or to imprisonment not exceeding three months, or to both.

9. Penalty for being found gaming in a common gaming house:whoever is found gaming or present for the purpose of gaming in a common gaming house shall, on conviction, be liable to fine not exceeding two hundred rupees or to imprisonment not exceeding one month; and any person found in any common gaming house during any gaming or playing therein shall be presumed, until the contrary be proved, to have been there for the purpose of gaming."

8. In this regard, the learned counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the Judgment reported in 1990(2) MWN Crime 195 in Raman Nair & 13 others & Durai Maharajan V.State, Wherein, this Court has held as follows:

"7... To decide a question whether a Club, where gaming in cards is carried on, is a gaming house or not, the relevant consideration is not whether any member of the club makes a profit but whether the club, as a person, occupying or using or keeping the house or room makes a profit. The fact that the police recovered huge sum of money on the table on the date in question is not sufficient to throw any light as to the club or the secretary of the club deriving anything from out of the money available on the table at the relevant time, may be going to the pockets of the members playing the game of cards. As already indicated, that is not sufficient to consider the premises of the club a gaming house under Section 3 of the Act. Once the premises is not proved to be a gaming house, it goes without saying that the petitioners cannot be stated to have committed the offences under Sections 8 and 9 of the Act.

10. It has been repeatedly held that running of a common gaming house is a primordial requisite before a person could be