PANAJI
While giving an order that liquor vends should be banned along national highways and state highways across India, the Supreme Court has clearly said that there is no fundamental right in the constitution to trade in liquor.
SC’s order, when read carefully, reveals three important points, which formed the basis for this order. One, statistics prove that India reported highest number of road accident fatalities worldwide and there is compelling evidence that a certain percentage of these accidents happen due to drunken driving.
Two, central government had issued a number of circulars and advisories to all states and union territories in the last twelve years telling them to remove liquor shops along national highways.
Three, the apex court held that occurrence of large number of road accidents is not limited to national highways, as such events take place even on state highways.
These three points, put together, seemed to have convinced the top court to order that liquor licenses granted for business along national highways and state highways will not be valid after April 1, 2017.
The SC said in its order, “On December 1, 2011, ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) in an advisory to the chief secretaries of all the states and union territories noted that India had reported the highest number of road accident fatalities in the world and data of 2009 indicated that a road accident occurred every four minutes.”
Interestingly, this wasn’t the first time that the central government had issued such an advisory. As early as 2004, National Road Safety Council (NRSC) agreed in a meeting that licences for liquor shops should not be given along the national highways.
But, it is clear that the states and union territories were not doing much about these advisories, which ultimately resulted in the SC giving this order.
To ensure that people don’t find roundabout ways of defeating the intention of making liquor consumption impossible while driving on highways, the court also said that no liquor shop shall be visible from national or state highway, no liquor shop should be directly accessible from national or state highway and no liquor shop shall be situated within 500 meters from the outer edge of the national or state highway or of a service lane along the highway.
Goa’s excise department has swung into action to follow the SC’s order. Assistant Excise Commissioner Satyawan Bhivshet said, “We have told excise inspectors to ascertain the number of alcohol licenses along national and state highways in Goa. The inspectors have also written to the PWD to get a list of state highways.”
To comply with the SC order, the state government will also have to amend the Goa State Excise Act. All eyes are on what the state government does from hereon.
