Govt rushes to SC against HC ruling on Tasmac closure

Govt rushes to SC against HC ruling on Tasmac closure

Julie.Mariappan@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 10.05.2020

Within 24 hours of the Madras high court ordering closure of Tasmac liquor outlets for flouting almost every condition laid down by the court for resumption of liquor sale, Tamil Nadu moved the Supreme Court challenging the orders saying it was a case of ‘judicial overreach.’ Tasmac did ₹295 crore business in two days.

In its appeal, the state argued that high court order was not sustainable under law and hence, ought to be set aside. “The net effect of the high court order is complete and indefinite standstill of the sale of liquor in the state leading to grave losses to the state’s revenue and commercial activity in the state,” the petition said. It recalled an early order of the high court, refusing to ban liquor sale on the ground that it was a policy matter within the state’s domain. The government said the entire batch of petitions was filed by vested private interest to make enormous commercial gains from the unfortunate situation.

On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to direct the states to close liquor shops during lockdown and left it to each state’s discretion to consider non-direct sale, including sale/ home delivery of liquor. “The SC recognised that states have a broad margin of power to determine whether and how to effect sale of liquor in this lockdown period and therefore, the HC order is a clear case of judicial overreach and is not sustainable,” Tamil Nadu said.

As for the high court’s directive to the state to amend the Tamil Nadu Liquor (Licence and Permit) Rules, 1981, to have atechnology-enabled home delivery to promote responsible consumption of alcohol, the state said court cannot compel the state to amend the rules.

The ‘judicial overreach’ will have the effect of stultifying a major commercial activity in the state, it said, adding that except Maharashtra where the Covid-19 figures are 3-4 times that of Tamil Nadu, no other state is selling liquor exclusively online. Tamil Nadu said it made elaborate security arrangements to control the crowd and stopped the sale in 12 shops due to overcrowding.

BIG ON BOOZE: TN sold liquor worth ₹295 crore in 2 days