In a major relief to educational institutions and places of worship suffering from location of liquor shops close to their campus, the Madras High Court Bench here on Thursday ruled that the statutory requirement of maintaining a minimum distance of 100 metres from the institutions should be measured from their compound wall and not the main gate.
Justices S. Nagamuthu and V.S. Ravi passed the ruling while allowing a public interest litigation petition filed to shift a liquor shop near a Government Higher Secondary School at Maraneri in Virudhunagar district. The order was passed after Advocate Commissioner G. Bhagavath Singh reported to the court that the liquor shop was situated at 58.5 metres from the school compound wall.
Though Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) officials contended that the shop was located at about 120 metres from the main gate of the higher secondary school, the judges pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Liquor Vending (In Shops and Bars) Rules, 2003 do not contain any provision stating that the distance should be measured only from the main gate and not the compound.
Writing the judgment for the Bench, Mr. Justice Nagamuthu said Rule 8 states that no liquor shop should be established in municipal corporations and municipalities within a distance of 50 metres from an existing place of worship or educational institutions and that a minimum distance of 100 metres should be maintained between such places in all other local bodies.
The Rules define the term ‘distance’ to mean the distance by the shortest pathway, lane, street or road generally used by the people. Therefore, it would lead to an incontrovertible conclusion that liquor shops should be situated away from the entire campus of educational institutions and places of worship and not just from their main gates, the Bench observed.
Recording the undertaking of Virudhunagar District Manager of Tasmac, who was present in the court, that the liquor near the school in Maraneri shall be closed tonight and not function from Friday, the judges said such a measure was absolutely necessary to provide a good atmosphere for the students, teachers and non-teaching of the school and free them from the menace of Tasmac customers.
