SC liquor ban: Gurgaon CyberHub pubs get clean chit, will serve alcohol

SC liquor ban: 33 bars and restaurants in Gurgaon’s CyberHub issued liquor licences enabling them to resume service immediately

Updated on: May 5, 2017, 17:35:14 IST

Hindustan Times | By Leena Dhankhar, Gurgaon

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The city’s most popular watering hole can propose a toast again as the Haryana excise department cleared on Thursday the plea of 33 bars and restaurants in CyberHub to resume serving alcohol.

The decision comes after a committee formed to measure the distance of pubs and bars from highways gave a clean chit to 33 pubs and restaurants at Gurgaon’s CyberHub on Thursday afternoon. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

These businesses in the 200,000-square-foot Gurgaon mall were hit after the Supreme Court banned the sale of liquor within 500 metres of state and national highways in the country from April 1.

CyberHub is close to national highway 8 and its pubs and bars went dry after the top court put the distance cap to discourage drink driving, a major cause of fatal road accidents.

Gurgaon’s battle with booze ban

FEB 7: Following Supreme Court’s order on liquor ban within 500 metres of highways, excise department identifies 43 such liquor vends, 143 pubs and bars, including 34 in DLF Cyber Hub

FEB 8: The pub/bar owners are told their licenses will not be renewed after April 1

FEB 9: The owners meet excise commissioner and decide to move the court to seek clarity on how the distance will be calculated

FEB 13: The Haryana advocate general tells the Gurgaon excise department to measure motorable distance from the edge of the highway

FEB 28: The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Haryana files a petition in the Supreme Court seeking modification of the order

MAR 2: Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi tells the Haryana government that the SC’s liquor ban directive is not applicable on bars and hotels

MAR 31: The excise department refuses to renew licences of 143 pubs and bars

APR 2: Hotel owners from Delhi-NCR meet

APR 6: 25 pubs/bars surrender their excise licences

APR 9: Committee formed to measure distance again.

APR 11: Committee measures distance between pubs and highway as 1,900 metres

APR 12: The Westin, Crowne Plaza, The Oberoi, Trident and Country Inn and Suites in Udyog Vihar measured safe.

APR 13: Excise department measures motorable distance of 14 Sector 29 establishments

APR 21: Clean chit given to 30 establishments, which include 15 pub/bars of Sector 29, 11 of Ambience Mall, Westin Hotel, Crowne Plaza, Barbet Tourist complex of Haryana Tourism, Treehouse Queens Pearl (Rajiv Chowk)

APR 25: Five-star hotels and Huda Gymkhana Club escape the ban due to jersey barriers on the road to entry

Compiled by Leena Dhankhar

A committee formed to measure the distance of bars and bottle shops from highways cleared the establishments operating from CyberHub on Thursday.

“The final report was emailed to the excise commissioner, Panchkula. These bars are in the clear zone and can start operation after renewing their liquor licences,” Gurgaon deputy commissioner Hardeep Singh said.

The city’s deputy excise and taxation commissioner (west) HC Dahiya said as much.

“The 33 pubs and bars at CyberHub can serve liquor. We will renew their licences.”

The excise authorities had banned 35 liquor outlets in CyberHub, of which two surrendered their liquor licences in April. The court ban had affected 115 pubs and bars in a city dotted with offices and factories of multinational and top Indian firms.

Sources said the state lost nearly Rs 100 crore in liquor revenue from Gurgaon in April.

The clearance covers 69 establishments banned from selling alcohol in the city, including those in CyberHub. Bars in Sector 29 and Ambience Mall have already been cleared.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Leena Dhankhar
Leena Dhankhar is Senior Editor and Bureau Chief, Gurugram, at Hindustan Times, where she has spent over 17 years chronicling the transformation of one of India's fastest-growing urban regions. From starting her career as a crime reporter to leading the Gurugram bureau, her journalism has been defined by investigative reporting, in-depth storytelling and an unwavering focus on public interest. Over nearly two decades, she has reported extensively across crime, politics, civic governance, elections, real estate, environment, courts, sports, education and entertainment, covering Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh and Palwal. Her reporting has exposed several major scams and systemic failures, including insurance frauds, waste management irregularities, illegal arms manufacturing units in Nuh, illegal mining in the Aravallis, organised crime networks and governance lapses affecting millions of residents. Known for her investigative work and exclusive stories, Leena has reported on high-impact national issues, including the Nicaragua charter flight carrying Indian migrants that was turned back amid allegations of human trafficking, exposing the growing network of illegal immigration rackets. Her work has also focused on gang wars, prison administration, juvenile crime, women and child protection systems, the functioning of the Juvenile Justice Board and Child Welfare Committee, and environmental challenges such as pollution, waterlogging and deteriorating civic infrastructure. Beyond hard news, Leena has extensively documented Haryana's rich heritage, forests and wildlife, bringing attention to the state's historical landmarks, biodiversity, conservation efforts and ecological challenges through immersive reportage and feature writing. Her journalism has consistently gone beyond breaking news. She has documented Gurugram's rapid urbanisation through long-form narratives and enterprise reporting on issues ranging from pothole-ridden roads, flooding and waste management to the changing social fabric of India's Millennium City. She also writes widely read feature columns, including The Outsider, Changemaker, and Concern for Gurugram, profiling people, places and ideas shaping the city's identity. Leena is the author of Gurugram School Murder, published by Juggernaut Books, a deeply reported account of one of India's most high-profile school murder investigations. She is currently working on her second book, an investigative work exploring some of India's most significant scams and fraud investigations. Beyond print journalism, she has expanded her storytelling through public speaking and digital media. She is a TEDx speaker and has produced podcasts exploring Gurugram's transformation, civic challenges and untold stories. Her work reflects a commitment to narrative journalism that combines rigorous reporting with compelling storytelling. A law graduate with an MBA in Human Resources, Leena brings a multidisciplinary perspective to her reporting, particularly on governance, public policy and legal affairs. She has travelled extensively across India to pursue investigative assignments, often reporting from remote locations and conflict-prone areas in search of stories that matter.Read More