Panel led by Justice Chandru to study impact of online rummy

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday ordered the constitution of a four-member committee led by retired Madras High Court judge K Chandru to study the impact of online rummy in the State. Stalin has also proposed to promulgate an ordinance soon to find a solution to the social problem.

The committee led by justice K Chandru would consist of IIT professor Mr Sankararaman, Sneha founder cum psychologist Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar and ADGP Vinit Dev Wankhede. The committee has been given two weeks to table its report to the government. A release issued by the government in this regard on Friday said, “Considering the immediate need for finding a solution to the social problem (online rummy), an ordinance would soon be promulgated based on the committee’s recommendation. The law would be a model law for other states to emulate.” The decision to constitute the committee was made at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister at the Secretariat on Thursday, June 9.

The committee would study the negative impact of online rummy like financial loss and threat of suicide with relevant data. The committee would also examine the social impact of advertisements which tempt people to play online rummy and identify appropriate methods to control such advertisements.

Justifying the need for the ordinance, Stalin recalled the August 3, 2021 verdict of the Madras High Court striking down an earlier law enacted by the previous AIADMK regime to ban online rummy for want of scientific data, and said the appeal filed by Tamil Nadu government before the Supreme Court on November 13, 2021 against the HC verdict has yet to be taken up for hearing.

Laws enacted by states like Kerala and Karnataka to ban online rummy have also been quashed by the respective High Courts. Meanwhile, death of people who lost their money after being lured to play online rummy continued in the state, the statement added.

The government has constituted the committee in the backdrop of the state witnessing a series of suicides allegedly due to playing online rummy. The DMK regime has come under fire from the Opposition for delaying the enactment of a law banning online rummy. PMK led by Dr Anbumani Ramadoss is holding a massive demonstration in the state capital demanding immediate ban on online rummy.

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