Supreme Court recalls order to close wine shop near school; says ban on liquor shops near highways has been relaxed in certain cases

The Supreme Court recently recalled its earlier order to close a wine shop in Puducherry within 150 meters of an educational institute after noting that restrictions in a 2016 judgment on the setting up of liquor shops near highways has since been relaxed [Alankar Wines Private Limited v. Human Rights and Consumer Protection Society & Anr]..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra observed that the March 2023 order to close the Puducherry wine shop had relied on the Supreme Court's earlier ruling in State of Tamil Nadu v. K Balu (2016).However, the Court noted that the restrictions on liquor shops imposed in the K Balu judgment had since been modified (and relaxed in certain scenarios) through orders passed in 2017 and 2018.The Court remarked that these subsequent orders may not have been brought to the Court's notice when it ordered the closure of the Puducherry wine shop on March 20, 2023. Therefore, it recalled the March 2023 order and directed the Madras High Court to take a call on the matter afresh. "Having recalled the order of this Court dated 20 March 2023, we are of the considered view that it would be appropriate to set aside the impugned order of the High Court and to restore the Writ Petition No 26624 of 2021 which was instituted before the High Court of Madras. We accordingly set aside the order of the High Court dated 4 January 2022 and restore the Writ Petition back to the file of the High Court for decision afresh," the apex court directed..The Supreme Court passed the order on review petitions filed by the Puducherry government and the liquor licensee affected by the March 2023 order to close the wine shop.The Puducherry government had questioned the correctness of the March 2023 judgment which had concluded that no wine shop could be set up within 500 meters of educational institutes or a temple or a mosque. The review pleas were decided along with a civil appeal on a similar issue.The matter has now been remanded to the High Court for a fresh decision keeping in mind the latest legal position. .In December 2016, the Supreme Court issued a slew of directions in the K Balu judgment regarding the permissible areas where liquor outlets in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry could be set up.In March 2017, the Supreme Court modified its earlier order regarding a ban on liquor shops on State and National Highways, albeit very slightly.A bench of (then) Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justices DY Chandrachud (as he then was) and L Nageswara Rao (since retired) modified its earlier directions in the following respects:For towns with a population of less than 20,000, the earlier distance mentioned in the order prohibiting the sale of liquor within 500 meters of the State and National Highways was modified to 220 meters.Sikkim and Meghalaya would be exempted from the ban owing to their natural geography.All licences to sell liquor along highways would effectively cease to exist from April 1, 2017. However, the States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were allowed an extension of time till September 31, since their excise year begins on October 1.The bench had also noted that the earlier order could not be read down to only include “shops” selling liquor. In effect, the order was intended to cover any establishment selling liquor within the prohibited distance, whether bar, restaurant or shop.However, on March 20, 2023, a bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar directed the closure of a wine shop in Puducherry since it was 150 meters away from an educational institute. This bench had opined that the opening of the wine shop in such a location was "in the teeth" of the Court's directions in the K Balu case. .While challenging this verdict, the Puducherry government argued that Supreme Court's subsequent orders had clarified that the distance limit rules in a municipal area would be determined by the State government. The Puducherry government had determined the distance to be 50 meters and given permission to the said liquor shop, it was pointed out..Having considered these contentions, the top court recalled its earlier order. A connected civil appeal was also disposed of by giving the High Court liberty to deal with the matter "bearing in mind the clarification" issued by the Supreme Court. .Advocates PB Suresh, Vipin Nair, Arindam Ghosh, Karthik Jayashankar, Anshumaan Bahadur, and PB Sashaankh appeared for Alankar Wines Private Limited (liquor shop licensee).Attorney General R Venkataramani and advocate Aravindh S appeared for the Union Territory of Puducherry..[Read Order]