No fundamental right to engage in liquor trade, rules HC

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Thursday ruled that no one has a fundamental right to engage in the liquor trade and that no one can claim that their livelihood would be jeopardised if their liquor trading licence was revoked for involvement in adulteration.

A High Court division bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and N. Tukaramji upheld the single judge orders that had suspended the government's decision to restore the licences of toddy traders. The licences of toddy traders were cancelled for adulteration of toddy with chemical substances such as Diazepam.

Challenging the government's memo of restoration of licences, some private individuals filed a writ petition. Hearing them, the single judge bench suspended the government’s memo of restoration of licences. Challenging this, the toddy traders filed an appeal, claiming that the single bench judge's orders would deprive them of their livelihood.

They further claimed that since their ancestors' time, they had made a living from the toddy trade, and that denying them the right to do so would deprive them of their livelihood. The division bench of the High Court rejected the appellants' arguments and ruled that no one has a fundamental right to trade in liquor.