Playing cards for recreation sans gambling not moral turpitude: SC

Playing cards for entertainment and recreation without an element of betting and gambling does not involve moral turpitude, the Supreme Court has said as it restored the election of a man in a cooperative society in Karnataka.A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh noted that one Hanumantharayappa YC, who was elected to the Board of Directors of Government Porcelain Factory Employees Housing Co-operative Society Ltd, was allegedly fined Rs 200 without any trial when he was caught playing cards with a few others on a roadside.

"In the very nature of things, we find it difficult that the misconduct attributed to the appellant involves moral turpitude. It is well known that the expression is used in legal and societal parlance to describe a conduct, which is inherently base, vile, deprave or shows depravity. Every action against which one can raise an eyebrow may not necessarily involve moral turpitude," the Bench said.

Noting that Hanumantharayappa was not a habitual gambler, the Bench said, "There are so many forms of playing cards. It is difficult to accept that every form of playing cards would involve moral turpitude, especially when it is played as a mode of entertainment and recreation. In fact, in most parts of our country, playing simpliciter cards, without an element of gambling or betting is accepted as a poor man's source of entertainment."

The top court said that Hanumantharayappa was elected to the Board of Directors of the cooperative society with the highest votes and the consequential punishment of setting aside his election is highly disproportionate to the nature of misconduct said to have been committed by him.

Setting aside the Karnataka High Court's judgement that upheld the decision to remove Hanumantharayappa from the post of the directors in the cooperative society, the SC restored the election of the appellant till the completion of his prescribed tenure.