The Supreme Court will soon pass orders to close liquor vends situated on national and State highways. Reserving orders in a batch of appeals filed by several State Governments and Retail liquor Shop Associations against High Courts banning liquor shops situated on highway roads, the Bench said that safety and security of citizens must weigh over the State’s interest to collect excise revenue.
The bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur, Justices DY Chandrachud and l Nageshwar Rao said that it intends to dispose the appeals by passing orders that henceforth, no liquor vends will be allowed to operate on State and national highway roads. Beside, the Court further observed that even shops which are situated on roads connecting or branching into a highway road can operate at a safe distance from the highway. This limit will also be prescribed by the Court in its final order.
The Court found the objective laudable in denying permission to liquor vends along highway stretches. It said, “On highways, those who do not want liquor vends, let them not be confronted by anybody stopping by to buy liquor.” The Centre supported the Court in passing such an order. For the Centre, senior advocate AK Panda told the Court that since 2007, the Centre had pushed for removal of liquor vends from highways. But the States have not cooperated in this regard.
The Punjab Government objected to the Court’s stand and said that the State has the responsibility of regulating the liquor trade by issuing licenses and renewing it each year. The bench pointed out an instance to show how in a 289 kilometre stretch between Haryana and Punjab, there were about 189 liquor vends. “On an average you have a liquor vend with tin shades every one kilometer. Constitution provides for prohibition of liquor and this is your service towards regulation. You keep adding liquor vends because the liquor lobby is close to you.”
Another lawyer Manoj George, who appeared in a case arising from Tamil Nadu High Court, pointed out that in Mahe, a coastal city in Puducherry bordering Kerala, there are close to 45 vends selling all brands of liquor bang on the national highway. For this reason, he added, though Kerala Government has imposed ban on availability of free liquor in the State, Mahe is satiating their needs.
Interestingly, senior advocate R Venkataramani appearing for the union territory backed the continuation of vends which attracted the ire of the Court.