New Delhi, Jan 12 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday asked all the stake-holders to sit and decided on a "reasonable policy" on the location of liquor shops along the national and the state highways as it said that it did not favour people drinking travelling long distances.
"It is a social issue. We don't want anybody should lose. All should sit together and have a reasonable policy. We don't want people to drink while travelling," said a bench of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and Justice S.A. Bobde.
Describing it as a "social issue" and presence of liquor vends on highway as an "allurement" for long distance travellers but at the same time, not wanting anyone including traders and the state to lose on its revenues, the court asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi facilitate a meeting of all stake holders to arrive at a "reasonable policy".
"Make a reasonable suggestion that is good for all. Remove it from the highways and take it at an appropriate place," the court told all the contesting parties.
Senior counsel K.K.Venugopal, appearing for one of the respondent states, challenged the central government's circular restricting liquor vends on the highways saying that it involved the constitutional issues as tax and excise are within the exclusive competence of the state legislature.
"If it is valid for national highways then it is very much valid for State highways," the court said as Tamil Nadu challenging the validity of the circular said that the central government had issued circular in respect of national highways and not for the state highways.
"You think and say (decide on reasonable police on location of liquor vends vis-a-vis highways) and we will affirm it," the court said as Venugopal said that exercise would take a long time to conclude.
As court asked Rohatgi to take initiative and convene a meeting for hammering a reasonable policy, it directed the next hearing of the matter on Feb 17.
The road safety cell of the union transport and highways ministry had issued a circular restricting the grant of licences for liquor vends on highways.
CM Yogi's big announcement about Purvanchal Expressway, said- PM will inaugurate in April
Ghazipur / Azamgarh: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday that constructio
Woman, her four children murdered in Meerut
Lucknow, Jan 27 (IANS) A woman and her four children were among the six people hacked to death i
The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) said that the rate of infection has decreased comp
The body of a corona victim was found last week at the Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital in Chennai.
Pakistan has agreed to send a team to the ODI World Cup to be held in India from October 5. Pakis
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have escalated for some time now. Talking about some special
India is going to step into a new generation of mobile networks in 2022. Starting from 13 metro c
Indian team's star batsman Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma have recently become parents f
China's big smartphone company Xiaomi recently launched the Mi 11 series Globy. The company launc
The weather pattern in the country is slowly changing. It is raining in some areas of UP, Haryana
