Supreme Court order brings little cheer for booze shops on highways

Towns and cities with a population of less than 20,000 got a Hail Mary, when the Supreme Court decided to amend rules so that liquor vends could operate at a distance of 220 m from state and national highways as opposed to the earlier distance of 500 m. 

In a partial relief to liquor vends, except in Sikkim and Meghalaya who were exempted from the ban, the order largely remained the same. Hearing a batch of last-minute petitions from states and disgruntled stakeholders, a bench of the Chief Justice of India JS Khehar and Justice DY Chandrachud ruled, “The judgment of this court concludes that there is no justification to allow liquor vends on state highways (while prohibiting them on national highways) having due regard to drunken driving being one of the significant causes of road accidents in India.”

So if someone is undertaking a road trip across states, they may not be able to buy alcohol anywhere along the highway. This order spelled doom for restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels situated within a 500m distance from the highway.  

“This is a great shock for thousands of employees in the service sector. Our livelihood is dependent on the sale of liquor. This is going to affect us badly,” said Deepak Mishra, manager of Hardrock Cafe.