PROHIBITION COUNCIL, MAHE Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has filed the present PIL seeks to assail the amendment to Rule 113 of the Pondicherry Excise Rules, 1970, on the ground that it gives an unguided, arbitrary and illegal power qua the distance norm for setting up of the liquor shop by the introduction of the expression "as far as Possible" when prescribing the distance of 300 meters. As the sequester, it is prayed that no licence can be granted within 300 meters distance from an educational/religious institution, place of public workshop, public places etc.,. The third limb of the prayer is for reduction of numbers of liquor shops by not issuing any further licence for liquor shops or renewing licence disproportionate to the population of Mahe and declare more dry days. Insofar as Rule 113 is concerned, the learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn our attention to the order passed by the Honourable Supreme Court in State of Uttar Pradesh and others v. Manoj Kumar Dwivedi and others reported in : (2008) 4 SCC 111, while interpreting the U.P. Number and Location of Excise Shops Rules, 1968, which proscribed any licence to be issued "in close proximity" to a place of public resort, school, hospital, etc.,. The Division Bench of the Allahabad High Court construed the said provision to imply a distance of 100 meters or 300 feet which was upheld by the Honourable Supreme Court.

(2.) IN our view, the provision in Rule 113(2) would have to be construed keeping in mind the size of the city/town ship extension. It is stated that Mahe has radius of 9 square kilometres, but has 64 licenced liquor shops. These shops however are stated to be in existence for quite some time as no licences have been issued after 1980. The Government is stated to have taken a decision not to issue any licence in 'Mahe' and 'Yanam' regions in the year 2010. The expression, "as far as possible" would certainly envisage a distance less than 300 metres as specified in the main part of the Rule.

(3.) AS to how many liquor shops should there be or licences renewed would not only depend on the aforesaid exercise, but also an exercise which ought to be carried out by the Government to find out the requisite number of liquor shops which should be in Mahe taking into consideration the population of that area. We are observing so, because the picture painted before us is of persons coming from adjacent states only for purposes of consumption of liquor on account of easier availability and price advantage. This certainly cannot be the objective of issuing licence.