HC asks govt to probe licences of liquor shops

The Delhi High Court has directed the state government’s excise department to probe if there was uncontrolled distribution of licences for running liquor shops in the capital, Harish V Nair reports.

The Delhi High Court has directed the state government’s excise department to probe if there was uncontrolled distribution of licences for running liquor shops in the capital.

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A public interest litigation on which the court issued the direction also demanded the immediate closure of all liquor shops near educational institutions and religious places and those running from inside shopping malls and departmental stores on the ground that they caused safety hazards especially to women.

“We direct the Delhi government, particularly the excise commissioner, to treat the public interest litigation as a representation and act in accordance with the law by taking appropriate action and also pass orders in a period of eight weeks,” said a bench headed by chief justice D Murugesan.

“There is unabashed distribution of licences for vending alcoholic beverages/liquor in neighbourhoods, shopping malls and departmental stores. Some of the shops are located adjacent to educational institutions. There is no policy evolved by the Excise Commissioner, to effectively control the number of liquor shops operating in Delhi and also for grant of licences to those shops,” said the PIL filed by NGO Society for Awareness and Development.

The PIL also demanded changes in the excise policy.