1985 (10) TMI 258 - SUPREME COURT

Whether sales tax can be levied by a State Legislature on the sale of lottery tickets in the concerned State?

Held that:- The promoter of lottery in the cases involved before us is the State and the grant is in derogation of the rights of the State. The State, in my opinion, can create such a right for the first time, and such transfer of the right by the State as a promoter would amount to a transfer of property and being in consideration of a price can be sale of goods.

Right to participate in the draw under a lottery ticket remains a valuable right till the draw takes place and it is for this reason that licensed agents or wholesalers or dealers of such tickets are enabled to effect sales thereof till the draw actually takes place and therefore lottery tickets, not as physical articles but as slips of paper or memoranda evidencing the right to participate in the draw can be regarded as dealer's merchandise and therefore goods which are capable of being bought or sold in the market. With these observations, I respectfully agree with the conclusion reached by my learned brother and concur with the order proposed by him.