Arunachal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands get exemption from SC highway liquor ban

July 12, 2017 05:47 pm | Updated 06:05 pm IST - New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Arunachal Pradesh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to join the club of Sikkim and Meghalaya, both of which enjoy full exemption from the court's ban on sale of liquor within 500 metres of National and State Highways.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar took note of the geographical quirks of Arunachal Pradesh and the islands and concluded that they “deserved parity” with Sikkim and Meghalaya.

On March 31, the north-eastern States of Sikkim and Meghalaya got a full exemption from the 500-m no-liquor zone ban after the court took into consideration their hilly terrain and also the fact that 82% of its area was forest land and over 90% of its liquor shops would be closed if the ban was imposed strictly in its original form.

Arunachal argued that it had lost 50% of its revenue following the December 15, 2016 ban, earmarking 500 metres alongside highways as liquor-free zones. The State said 80% of its roads are national highways.

In March, though confirming its ban, the court had however reduced the liquor-free zone along highways from 500 m to 220 m in areas with a population of 20,000 or less. The court had reiterated that liquor vends should neither be accessible nor visible from the highways. So in areas in Himachal Pradesh, liquor could be sold outside 220 m from the highways.

In a further partial relief, the court had also taken note of the fact that excise licence period varies in different States and extended beyond April 1, 2017. In such States, the court had extended the deadline for phasing out the licences to September 30, 2017.

This had benefitted States like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where the excise licences were valid till October 1 and June 30, respectively. The court had clarified that there would be no ban in these two States on highway liquor sales till September 30, 2017.

However, the court had denied Tamil Nadu any relief. It dismissed the State's request to reduce the no-liquor zone from 500 m to 100 m and held that the ban would start from April 1 itself.

The ban was ordered to prevent drunk driving, one of the major killers plaguing Indian roads.

On July 11, the court however upheld the Chandigarh adminsitraion's move to de-notify highways within city limits as major district roads. This spelt relief for hotels, pubs and restaurants serving liquor and may open doors for more States and Union Territories to de-notify stretches within their city limits.

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