Madras High Court Issues Notice On Plea Challenging TN Govt's Decision To Sell Alcohol Online Through TASMAC Booking Portal
Upasana Sajeev
27 Aug 2026 11:51 AM IST
The Madras High Court has issued notice to the State of Tamil Nadu, TASMAC, and the Director General of Police in a public interest litigation challenging the Government's recent proposal to sell alcohol through TASMAC's online portal.
The bench of Chief Justice SA Dharmadhikari and Justice G Arul Murugan has issued notice returnable by 4 weeks.
The plea has been filed by Advocate K Balu, President of the Advocates' Forum for Social Justice. He argued that the Government Order is illegal, unjust, a colourable exercise of powers and against the interest of the public. He argued that the online purchasing scheme was against the rules and contrary to the judgments of the High Court as well as the Supreme Court.
It may be noted that on August 6, 2026, the TASMAC issued a circular launching an online booking portal through the official TASMAC website, facilitating consumers to reserve TASMAC Liquor products online through the state-run TASMAC retailer.
The petitioner argued that Article 47 of the Constitution casts a duty on the State to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of the people and specifically mandates the State to endeavour to bring about prohibition of intoxicating drinks harmful for health. However, the petitioner argued that by introducing online sale of alcohol, the State is directly contradicting its constitutional obligation.
The petitioner argued that the existing rules prohibit the sale of alcohol to anyone below the age of 21 years of age and require warning boards to be displayed at the liquor shops. However, selling alcohol online would allow any underage person to place an order using someone else's profile, making enforcement of rules difficult. Thus, it is argued that the Government's new scheme is harmful for the welfare of society and only promotes the sale of liquor instead of limiting consumption.
The petitioner also pointed out that the sale and distribution of alcohol was governed by the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 and the Tamil Nadu Liquor Retail Vendors (in Shops and Bars) Rules, 2003. He argued that any new scheme would have to be framed by framing statutory rules or legislative amendments. The petitioner argued that the new system, which has been introduced by way of executive direction, is an arbitrary exercise of power and against the existing laws.
Counsel for Petitioner: Mr NL Rajah, Senior Advocate for Mr MR Elavarasan, Mr V Sivaraman
Case Title: K Balu v State of Tamil Nadu and Others
Case No: WP 33774 of 2026
