Rajasthan High Court Orders Removal Of Highway Liquor Shops; Says State 'Misused' Discretion By Allowing 1102 Vends Against SC Directions
Taking serious note of the increasing number of accidents on the highways on account of alcohol misuse, Rajasthan High Court directed the State to remove or relocate all the liquor shops falling within the restricted limit of 500 meters from a National or State Highway, within 2 months, irrespective of them falling under any municipal areas, local self-governing bodies or statutory...
Taking serious note of the increasing number of accidents on the highways on account of alcohol misuse, Rajasthan High Court directed the State to remove or relocate all the liquor shops falling within the restricted limit of 500 meters from a National or State Highway, within 2 months, irrespective of them falling under any municipal areas, local self-governing bodies or statutory development authorities.
Furthermore, the division bench of Dr. Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sanjeet Purohit also came down heavily upon the State for misusing the limited discretionary leverage granted under a Supreme Court precedent, to grant permissions to liquor shops along the National and State Highways, and making a “mockery of the discretion conferred”.
The Court was hearing a petition that raised the issue of location of liquor shops adjacent to highways, wherein it highlighted a steep rise in the cases of drunk driving in the State during 2025. It was opined that proximity of liquor to highways, were judicially recognized as factors requiring strict regulation in the interest of public safety.
Reference was made to the Supreme Court case of State of Tamil Nadu v K Balu in which alarming scale of accidents attributable to over-speeding and intake of alcohol was recorded. The Apex Court directed that no liquor shops shall be situated within 500 meters of outer edge of a national or state highways.
However, subsequently, the Supreme Court clarified that the order did not prohibit licenses establishments within municipal areas. Discretion was given to State Government to determine whether the same principle should be extended to areas covered by local self-governing bodies and statutory development authorities.
In the present case, an affidavit was submitted by the Excise Department that revealed that under the garb of the discretion provided by the Supreme Court, the State had permitted operation of 1102 liquor shops on National and State highways in Rajasthan by treating those as falling within municipal areas or local bodies, that contributes Rs. 2221.78 crores of revenue.
While expressing extreme concern, the Court opined that such an approach defeated the intention of the Supreme Court ruling, and held that, “The constitutional objective of safeguarding public life and safety cannot be subordinated to revenue considerations, and a careful balance must be struck wherein fiscal interests do not override the paramount requirement of protecting human life and ensuring road safety.”
Underscoring the fact that alcohol misuse and reckless driving had reached dangerous proportions to the extent of posing threat of right to life under Article 21, the Court held that the State miserably failed to discharge its duty and shattered the fabric of safeguarding contemplated in the Supreme Court judgment.
In order to restore full rigor and parameters of road safety delineated in the Supreme Court case, the Court stated,
“in times where urban limits are rapidly expanding and the territorial jurisdiction of Urban Local Bodies is ever widening, any mechanical reliance on such urban expansions to justify the presence of liquor shops along National and State Highways would amount to giving a complete go-by to the statutory scheme and to the policy objective of keeping highways insulated from liquor access. If every intermittent stretch of a National or State Highway is treated as falling within an “urbanisable/urbanised” zone, the entire protective purpose behind the Hon'ble Apex Court's mandate would stand wholly defeated.”
Accordingly, the State was directed to remove or relocate all the liquor shops falling within the restricted limit of 500 meters from a National or State highway, within 2 months.
Further, it was directed to be ensured that no hoardings, signs or advertisements relating to availability of liquor were visible from the National or State highways even while relocating the shops.
Matter has been listed for January 26, 2025.
Title: Kanhaiya Lal Soni & Anr. v State of Rajasthan & Ors.