Do not open liquor shops for 3 months: Madras High Court

Chennai: The Madras high court has struck a major blow to the state government, which was making an attempt to reclassify National and State Highways as roads coming under Corporations and Municipalities in order to open sealed Tasmac liquor shops. The court not only restrained it from opening any Tasmac liquor shop along any National Highway or State Highway running through the state or within a distance from them as prescribed and prohibited by the Supreme Court but also stayed the setting up or relocating of any liquor shop.

“It is well settled that the state cannot exercise executive powers citing administrative needs to render a judicial order of the Supreme Court ineffective. Judicial decisions certainly cannot be frustrated by an executive order. Therefore, there will be an order of injunction restraining the state from setting up and / or opening and / or relocating any liquor shops along any National Highways or State Highways running through the state or within a distance there from prohibited by the Supreme Court in the garb of proceedings impugned herein. The interim order shall remain in force for a period of three months or until further orders, whichever is earlier”, said a division bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M.Sundar.

The bench posted to July 10, further hearing of the petitions filed by DMK through its organisation secretary and MP, RS Bharathi and K. Balu, President of Advocates’ Forum for Social Justice.

The bench said one of the main grounds of challenge to the decision was that the same would render ineffective an order dated December 15, 2016 of the Supreme Court directing all the states to remove liquor shops along the National and State Highways before April 1, 2017 and to relocate the same elsewhere. Advocate general R. Muthukumaraswamy submitted that all shops located on National Highways and State Highways have been removed and relocated within April 1. It may be pertinent to note that the AG submitted on instructions that the roads which were National Highways would not be taken over by the Corporations or Municipalities, the bench added.

Senior counsel P. Wilson, appearing for DMK, contended that in defiance of the SC judgment and to nullify the same, the state government, by its colourable exercise of power, through the Commissioner of Municipal Administration, sent a letter dated April 21 to all Commissioner of Municipal Corporations and Municipalities to take over the roads under National Highways, State Highways, District main roads, Panchayat roads and other roads  by the respective corporations and municipalities by passing necessary resolutions to that effect so as to reach by a special messenger by April 25. The said letter was impugned in the present petition, Wilson added.