The State of Tamil Nadu rep. by its Secretary, Home, Prohibition & Excise Dept. & Ors. v. K. Balu & Anr.
Background
The case addressed the alarming incidence of road accidents linked to the presence of liquor shops directly on or visible from national and state highways across India. Several connected appeals and transfer petitions from different states raised the common question of whether liquor vends should be permitted along highways, and on what terms existing licences could continue.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that liquor shops must not be visible from, or directly accessible from, national or state highways, and must be located at least 500 metres from the outer edge of the highway or its service lane: a prohibition that also extends to highway stretches falling within municipal/city limits. The Court directed all States and Union Territories to immediately stop granting such licences and to remove existing liquor advertisements and signage on highways, while allowing already-renewed licences to run out their term but not beyond 1 April 2017 to avoid unfair hardship to licence-holders. These directions were issued under Article 142 of the Constitution, with compliance to be strictly monitored through state officials and fortnightly reports.
Lesson Learnt
The Supreme Court can use its special constitutional powers (Article 142) to impose nationwide regulatory directions, here, a 500-metre liquor-free buffer on highways, when public safety concerns like road-accident fatalities are at stake, even where this overrides existing state excise licensing practices.