IMPORTANT POINT
Liquor Ban – Municipal Areas – Directions issued that no liquor vend outside the limits of the towns, cities and villages but falling in the municipal areas on the Highways should be allowed to operate without compliance of applicable rules
Liquor Ban – State has the power to completely prohibit the manufacture, sale, possession, distribution and consumption of potable liquor as a beverage

AJAY KUMAR MITTAL, J.

1. The petitioner-Arrive Safe Society of Chandigarh through its President by way of instant petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India prays for a writ in the nature of mandamus for a direction to the respondents for immediate removal of places where liquor is being served/sold/supplied within 500 meters of National and State Highways in contravention to the judgments passed by the Supreme Court, dated 15.12.2016, 31.3.2017 and 11.7.2017, Annexures P.5 to P.7 respectively. Further direction has been sought to the respondents for immediate removal of all kinds of advertisements, hoardings, signs, signage, decorative lights which are still being displayed. Prayer has also been made for a writ in the nature of prohibition so that no further licences are issued by the respondents for sale/service of liquor within 500 meters of National and State Highways.

2. A few facts relevant for the decision of the controversy involved as narrated in the petition may be noticed. The Arrive Safe Society is an Indian NGO working on developing road safety programmes to increase knowledge, awareness and skills amongst all types of road users. Besides educating the youth about liquor abuse, it also works closely with the traffic police department to improve the law enforcement regarding drunken driving. The petitioner-Harman Singh Sidhu is facing the trauma of leading the life on a wheel chair for the last 20 years because the offending vehicle which paralysed him was being driven by a drunken driver. He does not want anyone else to be in the same partial vegetative state because of negligent act of somebody else who is driving under the influence of liquor. The President of the petitioner is a software engineer and works with various government organisations in India and abroad and thus earns his living. According to the petitioner, because of his constant efforts put in with no private interest, first this court and subsequently the Supreme Court issued specific directions regarding sale of liquor along National and State Highways. Thereafter, petitions were filed before the Supreme Court for modification of the directions. The judgment dated 15.12.2016 was modified to the extent that in the case of areas comprised in local bodies with a population of 20,000 people or less, the distance of 500 meters shall stand reduced to 220 metres. Further, it was directed that in the case of those licences for the sale of liquor which had been renewed prior to 15th December 2016 and the excise year of the concerned State was to end on a date falling on or after Ist April 2017, the existing licence shall continue until the term of the licence expired but in any event not later than 30th September 2017. Various interim applications were moved before the Supreme Court for clarification. It was observed by the Supreme Court that since the object of the directions was to prevent drunken driving, no relaxation can be made which would defeat the object sought to be achieved. The issue of applicability of judgments being confined only to liquor vends and to all places where liquor is being sold/served/supplied, then be it hotel/restaurants/café/bar/clubs etc., was confirmed by the Supreme Court vide another order dated 11.7.2017 wherein 35 applications filed by different hotel owners/clubs were dismissed. Thereafter, the UT Administration Chandigarh came up with an idea of denotifying the already notified State Highways and rename them as major District roads. The said notification was challenged in this court which was dismissed. The order was challenged before the Supreme Court. Vide order dated 11.7.2017, Annexure P.7, the Supreme Court recorded that the purpose of the directions contained in the order dated 15.12.2016 was to deal with the sale of liquor along and in proximity of highways properly understood, which provided connectivity between cities, towns and villages. The order did not prohibit licensed establis