The court held that the extended liquor ban imposed in connection with the Legislative Council elections was unjustified, directing that liquor outlets in Nagpur remain closed only during polling hours on June 18. The ruling comes as a major relief for traders, licence holders and businesses affected by the prolonged restriction.
In a major relief to liquor traders and licence holders, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has quashed the district administration’s order imposing an extended liquor ban ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections, holding that such a prolonged restriction was not justified in the circumstances.
A division bench comprising Justice Anil Kilor and Justice Rajesh Wakode set aside the order issued by the Nagpur District Collector and directed that liquor shops remain closed only during polling hours on June 18, between 8 am and 4 pm.
The dispute stemmed from an order issued on June 11 by Nagpur District Collector Kompare Ashirwad, along with similar directives in other districts, declaring a dry period 48 hours before polling. Under the order, all liquor outlets in the district were to remain shut from 4 pm on June 16 until the completion of voting on June 18. A separate prohibition was also imposed on June 22, the day of vote counting.
The order was challenged before the High Court by associations of liquor vendors and individual licence holders, who argued that the restrictions were excessive, arbitrary and financially burdensome.
During the hearing, the petitioners submitted that the Legislative Council election from the Local Authorities Constituency involved only around 900 voters in Nagpur district. They pointed out that these voters were elected representatives and not members of the general public, making a district-wide liquor ban disproportionate to the scale of the election.
The petitioners further contended that the extended closure would cause substantial business losses without serving any meaningful electoral objective.
After hearing the parties, the division bench observed that the nature of the election did not warrant such an extensive prohibition period. The court held that the order failed the test of proportionality and could not be sustained.
Accordingly, the bench quashed the June 11 notification and clarified that liquor outlets would remain closed only during the notified polling hours on June 18.
The ruling has been welcomed by traders and licence holders, who described it as significant relief from unnecessary restrictions. Legal experts noted that the judgment reinforces the principle that election-related restrictions must be reasonable and proportionate to the nature and scale of the electoral process.
With the court’s intervention, the proposed liquor ban on counting day, June 22, will also no longer remain in force. The decision is expected to have wider ramifications for similar election-related prohibition orders in other parts of Maharashtra.
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