Delhi HC stays excise dept's order to eatery to stop serving liquor due to invalid licence

Delhi HC stays excise dept's order to eatery to stop serving liquor due to invalid licence

New Delhi, The Delhi High Court has stayed an order of the excise department asking 'Hauz Khas Social', a popular eatery in the city, to stop serving liquor in the absence of a valid eating house licence.

Delhi HC stays excise dept's order to eatery to stop serving liquor due to invalid licence

The high court, which was informed that the restaurant's eating house licence was valid till March 31, 2024, and it has been pursuing for the renewal ever since, said that as per law, the registration already granted to the eatery shall enure till the renewal certificate is issued or till an intimation of refusal is issued by the licensing unit of Delhi Police.

"Considering that under… of the Delhi Eating House Registration Regulations, 2023, the registration already granted to the petitioner shall enure, till the renewal certificate is issued or till an intimation of refusal is issued by the respondent No. 2 , the direction contained in the show-cause notice-cum-order of April 8, 2024, requiring the petitioner to 'cease the operation of service of liquor', is ex-facie misconceived," Justice Sachin Datta said in the order dated April 9.

The petitioner, Epiphany Hospitality Pvt Ltd, which operates the restaurant-cum-bar under the name 'M/s Social and Tinur', also known as 'Hauz Khas Social', at Hauz Khas village here, approached the court aggrieved by the sudden disruption of its operations on April 3, 2025, due to the pending renewal of its eating house licence.

The eatery authorities were asked to put on hold the sale of liquor on account of no valid eating house licence with it.

The plea said the petitioner has a valid licence for serving Indian and foreign liquor, which has been extended till June this year.

The counsel for Delhi government's excise department denied that any seizure of liquor has been done by it, and submitted that it has only issued directions that sale of liquor be discontinued till further directions from the department.

The licensing unit of Delhi Police submitted that it was seized of the petitioner's application for renewal of its eating house registration/licence and that the processing has been held up only for want of "area suitability report" from the unit concerned.

The court in its order said as per the regulations, the petitioner's premises shall be deemed to be duly registered, until its registration certificate is duly renewed and delivered or till an intimation is sent by the police that renewal has been refused.

"The respondent No. 2 is directed to process the petitioner's application for renewal of registration/licence under the Delhi Eating House Registration Regulations, 2023, and take a decision thereon , as expeditiously as possible, and preferably within a period of two weeks," it said.

The court said the direction in the excise department's show-cause notice, that the petitioner shall cease operation of service of liquor from its restaurant, is stayed till adjudication of the notice.

It asked the eatery to respond within time to the show-cause notice, saying the authorities should take into account the provisions of the law while considering the renewal application.

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