The court mandates strict compliance with safety regulations prohibiting liquor shops within 500 meters of highways, reiterating that public safety must take precedence over revenue considerations.

ORDER :

1. This Court notes with profound concern that the State of Rajasthan continues to witness an alarming rise in fatal road accidents, leading to the tragic and avoidable loss of valuable human lives. In a separate suo motu proceeding concerning “Road and Public Safety,” this Court has already recorded deep anguish over recurring incidents in which nearly one hundred persons lost their lives within a short span of two weeks, as widely reported in leading newspapers. Such accidents, arising from failures in regulation, enforcement, and infrastructural safety, constitute a grave infraction of the constitutional guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

1.1. Recent data published in the NDTV Rajasthan report dated 06.11.2025 and the Hindustan Times (Jaipur Edition) dated 06.11.2025 indicate a steep rise of nearly 8% in cases of drunk driving in the State of Rajasthan during the year 2025. While 40,715 such cases were recorded in 2024, the figure has already escalated to 43,788 by September 2025, marking an alarming increase of approximately 7.55%. This surge is not a statistical anomaly but stands reflected in severe and recurring consequences on public safety and human life.

1.2. Within a span of merely two days, at least 28 deaths have occurred in two major road accidents—12 deaths and 10 grievous injuries in Jaipur’s Harmada area when a speeding dumper truck rammed into 17 vehicles, and 15 deaths in Phalodi on NH-15 when a traveller bus collided with a stationary trailer. These incidents demonstrate that alcohol misuse and reckless driving have reached dangerous proportions, posing a direct threat to the fundamental right to life under Article 21.

1.3. The preventable loss of life due to such incidents is wholly unacceptable in a society governed by the rule of law. Against this backdrop, the issue raised in the present petition regarding the location of liquor shops adjacent to highways assumes enhanced significance. The proximity of liquor vends to highways, and the ease of accessibility along accident-prone stretches, have been judicially recognised as factors requiring strict regulation in the interest of public safety.

1.4. The gravity of the issue stands amplified by the observations made by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. K. Balu (Civil Appeal Nos. 12164-12166 of 2016 decided on 31.03.2017), wherein reference was made to official data published by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Transport Research Wing) in its report “Road Accidents in India – 2015.” The Supreme Court recorded the alarming scale of accidents attributable to over-speeding and intake of alcohol/drugs in the following terms:

“The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways in its Transport Research Wing has brought out a publication titled ‘Road Accidents in India – 2015’. The cover depicts in rather graphic terms vehicles involved in car crashes. There is a large group of persons assembled in the foreground, an ambulance bearing the ‘108’ logo and a police car. Familiar sights on Indian roads. The publication tells us that:

‘11.1 During 2015, within the category of drivers’ fault, accidents caused and persons killed due to ‘Exceeding lawful speed’ accounted for 62.2 per cent (2,40,463 out of 3,86,481 accidents) and 61.0 per cent (64,633 out of 1,06,021 deaths), respectively. Taking into account total road accidents and total road-accident killings, the share of over-speeding comes to 47.9 per cent (2,40,463 out of 5,01,423 accidents) and 44.2 per cent (64,633 out of 1,46,133 deaths), respectively.

11.2 Intake of alcohol/drugs by drivers resulted in 16,298 road accidents and 6,755 fatalities in 2015. Within the category of drivers’ fault, intake of alcohol/drugs accounted for 4.2 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively. Taking into account total road accidents and total road- accident killings, the share comes to 3.3 per cent (16,298 out of 5,01,423 accidents) and 4.6 per cent (6,755 out of 1,46,133 de