HC allows south Delhi restaurant to serve guests liquor

Delhi High Court allows Hauz Khas restaurant Social to continue serving liquor, ruling that its valid license was wrongly questioned by the excise department.

The Delhi high court has permitted restaurant outlet Social in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas to continue serving liquor after the Delhi excise department had banned the sale earlier this months citing absence of the required licenses.

HC allows south Delhi restaurant to serve guests liquor

Followed by an inspection on April 3, the excise department of Delhi government served a show cause notice (SCN) to the outlet on April 8 seeking explanation for serving liquor despite expiry of the “eating house license”. The notice directed the restaurant to cease the sale of liquor till further orders.

A bench of justice Sachin Datta said that such an action was “ex facie misconceived”, since the restaurant held a valid eating house license since 1994. The court found that the delay in renewal could not be attributed to the restaurant as it was pending with Delhi Police for an “area suitability report”.

The order, passed on April 9, released later, read, “Considering that under para-6(ii) of the Delhi Eating House, Registration Regulations, 2023, the registration already granted to the petitioner shall ensure, till the renewal certificate is issued or till an intimation of refusal is issued by the respondent no.2 (Delhi Police’s licensing unit), the direction contained in the aforesaid SCN-cum-order, requiring the petitioner to ‘cease the Operation of Service of Liquor’, is ex-facie misconceived.”

The judge, in the 11-page order, said, “The furnishing thereof is not in the hands of the petitioner. In case there is any delay on account of the same, the responsibility and consequences thereof cannot be fastened upon the petitioner.” Justice Datta further directed the Delhi Police’s licensing unit to expeditiously process the renewal of license application within two weeks.

The matter arose from a petition filed by Epiphany Hospitality Private Limited – operating Hauz Khas Social, against the excise department’s action. In the petition, the south Delhi eatery had asserted that the restaurant held the license for serving liquor, which was valid till June 30, 2025 and it had been facing repeated administrative obstacles from Delhi Police’s licensing unit with regards to grant of eating house license, despite submission of complete documentation and compliance with requisite conditions. The restaurant further submitted that the department’s action was unjustified since it had a valid eating house license since 1994, and only the renewal was pending.

Delhi government’s excise department had submitted that it had only issued directions for halting the sale of liquor on account of non-availability of an eating house license. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police’s licensing unit submitted that the processing of the eating house license is still underway and had been held up for want of “area suitability report” from the officials concerned.