Liquor Shops to shut down on Highways, Starting Today
According to Supreme Court’s order, Liquor shops located on highways will shut down starting today. The Supreme Court has also ordered that Hotels, Pubs and restaurants in the proximity that serves alcohol would also have to take it off their menu to keep the highways safe.
A bench Headed by Chief Justice of India ruled, “The objective is to check drunken driving and so there is no dilution of the original order passed by this court. Drunken driving as the objective is a major cause of road accidents in the country”.
This ruling has affected around 50 pubs, restaurant and hotels, which are located within 500 metres of Highways in Delhi.
In Delhi, the court verdict will lead to the closure of about 50 liquor vends and cost another 65 hotels and restaurants, located along the six national highways that criss-cross the national capital, their licence to serve liquor. This will include hotels in Delhi Aerocity.
In Gurgaon, many 5 star hotels and restaurant along National Highway 48 and DLF CyberHub will be affected.
On December 15 last year, the top court had ordered all establishments selling liquor within 500 metres of highways across India to relocate on a petition by Harman Singh Sandhu, 46, who has been bound to a wheelchair after a road accident 20 years ago. Mr Sandhu wanted to make the roads safer for everyone. Nearly 1.4 lakh people died in road accidents in 2015, an average of 400 deaths every day.
The hills states of Sikkim and Meghalaya have been exempted due to the mountainous terrain and thick jungles. The states had argued that since there isn’t enough land for homes and shops, it would be difficult to find sites for liquor sale.