Tamil Nadu Additional Advocate General Balaji Srinivasan said the state is monitoring and enforcing social distancing. He said the conditions put forth by the high court that a person cannot buy more than two bottles of alcohol and making Aadhaar details mandatory for buying were impractical
SC stays HC order to close liquor vends in TN
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, S K Kaul and B R Gavai, which took up the plea by TASMAC through video-conferencing, issued notice and ordered an ad-interim stay on the May 8 high court order.
By: Express News Service | New Delhi |Published: May 16, 2020 3:33:23 amNEXT
Appearing for the state government, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohtagi contended that the High Court has entered into the state’s domain of policymaking by setting conditions for sale of liquor. (Representational)RELATED NEWS
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The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Madras High Court order which directed the closure of liquor shops run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) for not observing social distancingnorms.
A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, S K Kaul and B R Gavai, which took up the plea by TASMAC through video-conferencing, issued notice and ordered an ad-interim stay on the May 8 high court order.ADVERTISEMENT
Appearing for the state government, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohtagi contended that the High Court has entered into the state’s domain of policymaking by setting conditions for sale of liquor.
It was the state’s prerogative to decide the mode of sale, he argued, and pointed to a risk of adulteration during home delivery.ADVERTISEMENT
Tamil Nadu Additional Advocate General Balaji Srinivasan said the state is monitoring and enforcing social distancing. He said the conditions put forth by the high court that a person cannot buy more than two bottles of alcohol and making Aadhaar details mandatory for buying were impractical.
Advocate P V Yogeswaran, who appeared for the original petitioners in the high court,urged the bench not to intervene, saying sale of liquor was not a fundamental right and precautionary measures were needed in view of Covid-19.
The state government had approached the top court, challenging the high court order, saying it will cause “grave losses” to revenue. The high court had noted crowds in front of shops after the state government permitted sales. It had permitted sale of alcohol online and its home-deliver
