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Liquor vends’ auction: Chandigarh admn to move Supreme Court against HC stay
During the hearing on Wednesday, high court had stayed the operation of all liquor vends in Chandigarh from April 1; none of the total 96 vends auctioned will be able to start operations until at least April 3, when the high court will take up the petitions challenging the allotments again
A day after the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed the operation of all liquor vends in Chandigarh from April 1 over liquor contractors’ claims of “a single family” securing 90% of the vends at a recent e-auction in violation of the 2025-26 UT excise policy, UT administration has now decided to move the Supreme Court against the stay.
According to officials familiar with the matter, UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has approved the file for challenging the stay before the top court and the petition will now be filed on Friday.
During the hearing on Wednesday, the high court had stayed the operation of all liquor vends in Chandigarh from April 1. It effectively means that none of the total 96 vends auctioned by the administration will be able to start operations until at least April 3, when the high court will take up the petitions challenging the allotments again.
Meanwhile, with the current financial year ending at midnight on March 31, existing licensees will also be required to wrap up their operations, leading to no liquor sale at vends for at least three days in the new fiscal.
The court order came on multiple petitions challenging these allotments, alleging that a single family and their associates had secured 87 out of the 96 vends auctioned by the UT excise and taxation department.
On the other hand, the UT’s legal team, led by senior advocates Rajiv Atma Ram and Amit Jhanji, defended the policy, argued that the petitions were an attempt to operate beyond March 31, 2025.
After hearing the arguments, the bench of justice Sureshwar Thakur and justice Vikas Suri posted the matter for April 3 and directed all parties to maintain the status quo regarding the liquor vends for the year 2025-26, in essence halting the policy’s implementation from April 1. In the auction held on March 21, the UT was able to auction 96 out of 97 liquor vends for the year 2025-26, generating ₹606 crore in revenue, a significant 36% above the ₹439-crore reserve price.
