The Aizawl Bench of the Gauhati High Court on Wednesday set aside the Mizoram government’s notification extending dry days and allowed liquor vendors to open shop till March 31.
The Mizo National Front (MNF) government headed by Chief Minister Zoramthanga had in keeping with an election promise of imposing prohibition declared dry days from December 21, 2018 to January 14 this year for a liquor-free Christmas and New Year. The dry day period was later extended till March 10.
The Mizoram Liquor Dealers’ Association and owners of three bonded warehouses in the State had filed separate lawsuits against the government on January 17 challenging this extension of dry days. The dealers said the extended dry run made them incur a loss of ₹4 lakh per day while the liquor stock was piling up because of purchases made till the end of the current fiscal.
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“The high court quashed the notification of the government since there was no exit protocol to pave the way for prohibition. It is a relief for vendors and warehouse owners whose business was hampered due to the sudden dry day declaration,” said Francis Sailo, a liquor vendor.
The owners of the bonded warehouses said it would be impossible to offload the stock by March because of the temporary ban on sales for more than a month.