1,700 Tasmac shops on highways face closure

“The impugned notice cannot be sustained to the extent it directs the district collectors to permit all licensed shops, which are located within the limits of municipal corporations, municipalities and town panchayats, to function with immediate effect,” said the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose. 

The bench directed the state authorities to carry out the exercise of determining if any liquor shop set up or proposed to be set up and/or re-opened was covered by the order of the Supreme Court on July 11, 2017 on a case to case basis, and added: “The government would have to take recourse to all relevant factors, including the nature and extent of development in the area and the object underlying the direction prohibiting the sale of liquor on National and State Highways.”

Also, noting that the Supreme Court did not waive the prohibition imposed by its judgment to granting licenses for sale of liquor along highways that fall within the limits of a municipal corporation, city, town or local authority, the bench said the apex court had only given liberty to licensed establishments to submit a representation to the state, contending that the principle enunciated in the July 11 judgement should apply to their establishments as well. 

“The Supreme Court also expressed the view that the state governments would not be precluded from determining whether the principle which had been laid down by the Supreme Court would also apply to areas covered by local self-governing bodies and statutory development authorities,” it added. 

The petitioner K Balu, an advocate and President of Advocates’ Forum for Social Justice, had moved the PIL challenging the order permitting liquor shops within the limits of municipal corporations, municipalities and town panchayats, pursuant to which 1700 liquor shops have allegedly been opened all over Tamil Nadu.