Highway Liquor ban: Supreme Court refuses to interfere with de-notification of highways by Chandigarh

In a chaos struck court room, the Supreme Court today refused to entertain applications of private parties seeking modification of the Supreme Court’s order on liquor ban alongside national and state highways..The case was heard by a Bench of Chief Justice JS Khehar and Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao..The private parties, mainly hotel associations, argued that following the Supreme Court’s order they have been forced to shut shop. But the bench was reluctant and said “All IA’s dismissed”..However, the interlocutory applications filed by Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh will be heard by the Court..The Bench also declined to entertain the appeal filed by NGO, Arrive Safe Society against a decision of the Punjab & Haryana High Court regarding the Chandigarh administration’s decision to de-notify certain highways..The High Court had refused to interfere with the decision of the administration and the Supreme Court today declined to entertain the appeal against the same. This would mean that the decision of Chandigarh to de-notify the highways would remain intact..The Court remarked “that the intention behind the order was as long as it remains a highway, sale of liquor within 500 meters would be banned. But now they are not highways anymore.”.The matter will now be taken up tomorrow for hearing the interlocutory applications filed by the States and Union Territories.