Cheers! Highway Liquor Ban NOT Applicable in City Limits Rules SC

Cheers! Highway Liquor Ban NOT Applicable in City Limits Rules SC

Cheers! Time to raise a toast at least for some bar/pub owners having liquor establishments within the city limits as Supreme Court has said that the Highway liquor ban is NOT applicable to their businesses.

Mangaluru: Even as the incessant rain, water logging, and massive traffic snarls have been dampening the mood of residents of the city, here is finally some good news for partygoers in Mangaluru as well as the rest of the country. The Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 23, clarified that the highway liquor ban, which was announced on December 15, was applicable only to the vends on the roads connecting various cities.

It said that state and national highways that fall within city limits do not come under this ban. “The purpose of the directions contained in the order dated 15 December 2016 is to deal with the sale of liquor along and in proximity of highways properly understood, which provides connectivity between cities, towns and villages,” which was stated in a order by an SC bench, headed by Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar.

Following this order, excise officials in Mumbai said that they will start re-issuing licenses to various clubs and pubs in the city next week onwards and these places will be able to start operations post the Ganpati festival. Meanwhile, this news may also brings some cheer to Mangaluru, which has been seeing some bars and liquor outlets downing shutters. But in the meantime, on Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court had dismissed the bar owners’ plea to denotify the national highway stretches and the excise officials had said that they could not renew licenses after the order.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court’s order is now being hailed by pub/Bar owners and one bar owner anticipating some good results has said: “We are vindicated with this order. The ambiguity which remained since 1st April comes to rest and we can restore the licenses for our establishments within the municipal limits which were really never in the spirit of what a highway does. Its come as an early Diwali for the hospitality sector and we thank the honorable bench for restoring lost jobs, tourism and revenues.”

If everything goes well, it looks like pub/Bar owners, as well as the party-lovers of the city, can finally heave a sigh of relief and raise a toast!