justice S M Subramaniam and justice G Arul Murugan observed. The judges noted that in Tamil Nadu, no licence has been granted to private individuals to run retail liquor shops.

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HC pulls up officials for failing to monitor clubs selling only liquor
Kaushik Kannan / Aug 23, 2025, 02:07 IST

Madurai: Private individuals are establishing recreation clubs and obtaining FL2 licences solely for the purpose of selling liquor by circumventing the laws, while the authorities who are aware of these activities, remain silent spectators, as the owners are either political or influential people in the particular locality, Madras high court has observed. The court added that effective coordination between officials of the registration department, police, prohibition and excise, is of paramount importance for dealing with complaints and offences in this regard.
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“Liquor shops causing nuisance or posing a threat to the residents of that locality must be looked into, and appropriate actions are to be initiated by conducting surprise inspections and verifying the licences, registration, and other documents. There is no specific clause or objective in the by-laws approved by the registrar for the selling of liquor by obtaining an FL2 licence from the prohibition and excise department.
In the absence of any such clause in the by-laws, which are to be approved under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, selling liquor in the recreation clubs cannot be permitted, and it is a violation of the by-laws of the societies,” a division bench of justice S M Subramaniam and justice G Arul Murugan observed.
The judges noted that in Tamil Nadu, no licence has been granted to private individuals to run retail liquor shops.

The judges observed that recereation clubs are circumventing the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937, and various other laws.
Hence, the judges directed the inspector general of registration to ensure that clubs selling liquor have incorporated a specific clause in their by-laws, which must be approved by due verification and in accordance with the laws in force.
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In the absence of any such clause in the by-laws, the registration of such clubs should be cancelled.
The judges directed the director general of police to ensure that periodical surprise inspections are conducted in the clubs and that their licences, documents, and activities inside the clubs are verified. In the event of any offence or illegality, the offenders are to be prosecuted.
The court passed the order while disposing of a batch of petitions filed seeking a direction to the authorities either to close down the recreation clubs or to refrain from granting FL2 licences to these recreation clubs.

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