The Supreme Court on Friday paved the way for reopening of state-owned liquor vends in Tamil Nadu by staying a Madras High Court order which had ordered their closure on the grounds that there was violation of guidelines, such as social distancing, meant to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
A bench headed by Justice L Nageswara Rao orally observed that the ultimate decision on whether liquor should be sold and how the sale should be made rests with the government.
“Issue notice. In the meanwhile there shall be ad interim stay of orders dated May 6 and May 8, passed by the High Court of Madras,” the bench which also comprised justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and BR Gavai said.
The court also stayed the May 11 order passed by the Madurai bench of the Madras high court.
The high court had directed on May 8 that Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) can sell liquor only through online mode after the re-opening of liquor outlets on May 7 had led to overcrowding and long queues outside its outlets.
The central government had, on May 1, allowed states to sell liquor subject to certain conditions which were issued to ensure social distancing in the shops.
In line with the Centre’s directions, the Tamil Nadu government had issued a public notice on May 4 announcing that TASMAC outlets which were shut since lockdown would reopen on May 7 for sale of liquor.
However, on a PIL by one B Ramkumar Adityan, the high court on May 6 passed an order regulating the sale of liquor. It mandated adherence to certain conditions subject to which the sales could be carried out.
It was ordered that “not more than two bottles of 750 ml each (including wine, beer etc.) of any one type will be sold to one customer at a time.”
Further, it directed that customers cannot purchase liquor more than twice a week and with a minimum gap of three days. Directions were also issued to encourage online payment instead of cash payment.
The state of Tamil Nadu and TASMAC, which approached the Supreme Court challenging the high court order, pointed out that when the outlets opened on May 7 after a 44-day shutdown, the high court directions, in fact, led to overcrowding and worsened the queues.
This caused the High Court to serve up a double whammy by passing another order on May 8 directing complete closure of TASMAC outlets leaving it with the option of online delivery alone.
This direction was reiterated by the Madurai Bench of the High Court on May 11 in another case.
The orders passed by the high court are “counter-productive” and are “an overreach of its powers”, TASMAC had submitted before the Supreme Court.
