The Karnataka High Court bench led by Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad, has issued a stay on any adverse actions by the GST authorities against Pacific Gaming, the operator of the popular online poker portal Pokersaint and the online rummy website GullyRummy. The judgment aligns with previous High Court orders in cases such as Deltatech, Delta Corp, Playerzpot, urging GST authorities to refrain from taking any further steps.

The court proceedings, led by Adv. Aditya Narayan, counsel for the petitioner, saw deliberation on the grant of an ad interim order. The Court deliberated on the issue of whether there should be an injunction against further actions until the next scheduled hearing.

Adv. Amit Anand Deshpande, the standing counsel, informed the court that he is yet to secure complete instructions in the matter and that the learned ASG, Sri. N. Venkataraman, is briefed to appear for the same. Additionally, it was highlighted that the orders of the Court, upon which the petitioner relies, have been challenged before the Hon’ble Supreme Court, and an interim stay has been granted.

In response, Adv. Aditya Narayan acknowledged the matter before the Supreme Court and expressed concerns that if the respondents fail in their appeal, the petitioner would be left without recourse. He argued that, in similar circumstances, other courts have granted interim orders against any immediate adverse actions.

Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad, after due consideration, ordered that until the next date of hearing, there should be no precipitation of adverse steps by the GST authorities. The court clarified that this order does not preclude the respondents from opposing the continuation of this arrangement during the subsequent proceedings.

The court has scheduled the re-listing of the petition for further consideration on 14th April’25.