Water crisis: SC dismisses plea seeking water supply ban to Maharashtra breweries

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea seeking a complete ban on water supply to distilleries and breweries in drought-hit regions of Maharashtra.

The apex court said that the Bombay High Court has already passed an interim direction, adding that the matter is still pending there and asked the petitioner to approach the High Court for modification, rather than filing a PIL with the Supreme Court.

Earlier, a vacation bench of Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre and Justice Ashok Bhushan agreed to hear the plea after an advocate mentioned the matter before it, seeking this supply be instead made available for drinking purposes.

The petitioner said that instead of curtailed water supply to the liquor industries, there should be no supply of water at all, as the entire region is facing acute water shortage.

The petitioner said that people are being deprived of drinking water, as it is being given to the liquor industries instead.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court had recently asked the state government to curtail water supply to the liquor industry by 60 per cent from May 10, which would be operative till June 27.

The plea assumed significance as the Supreme Court had earlier upheld the Bombay High Court order banning the hosting of IPL matches, including in Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur.