Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) has filed a writ petition in the High Court after the State Government did not heed its directive to remove liquor shops close to densely populated areas in the State.
The petition would be heard after the summer vacation of the court, in June. MPHRC has made the State government and the Excise Commissioner as parties in the petition. Acting chairman of MPHRC, Justice AK Saxena, had recommended to the State Government on September 27, 2012 to remove all liquor shops near densely populated localities in the State by issuing fresh notification within two months in place of the existing one of June 7, 2001, the Commission PRO Rohit Mehta said on Thursday.
As Government did not act, the Commission filed a writ petition which would come up for hearing next month, he said. Commission had taken the initiative after residents of Comfort Plaza and Gomti Colony in Nehru Nagar locality here had complained that drunkards had become a nuisance, especially for women, he said. Commission also praised Wara gram-panchayat in Balaghat district which recently decided to remove a liquor shop taking cognisance of its recommendations. Mehta added that the Commission was planning to move the HC in other matters related to violation of human rights of masses, such as farmers’ suicide, malnutrition, etc, whenever its recommendations go unheeded or the Commission has not received action taken report from the Government.