Hearing on plea seeking to ban liquor sale in Tasmac shops put off to June

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court adjourned hearing a petition seeking ban on the sale of liquor in Tasmac shops until confirming the quality of the liquor.

“While the law permits to sell the liquor how a ban can be imposed to sell the same,” the court questioned admitting the petition and adjourned the matter to June.

Pointing out the tragic death of two persons after drinking alcohol at a Tasmac bar in Thanjavur on May 21, a petitioner R Boomiraj from Coimbatore filed a PIL in the Madras High Court seeking a total ban on the sale of liquor through Tasmac shops and insisted that the Tasmac confirmed the quality of liquor before sales.

The bars set up adjacent to the Tasmac shops are not legally allowed to sell or store liquor, but all the Tasmac bars are selling liquor round the clock with the nexus of police and excise officials, Boomiraj said in his petition.

The petition also stated that substandard liquor is also being sold in the black market at the bars.

Further, the petitioner demanded that Tasmac should ascertain the quality of the liquor sold and ascertain the percentage of ethyl alcohol in the liquor and declare the liquor as fit for consumption.

The case was heard by a division bench comprising Justice B Pugalendhi and Justice V Lakshminarayanan.

The bench questioned, while the Prohibition Act allows the existence of bars, how the court could proceed to ban the bars.

Further, the bench said that it can be appealed to the people’s representatives regarding the prohibition of alcohol and adjourned the case to June.