2,800 liquor shops in Karnataka to down shutters, HC rejects plea on highway denotification

As a result of this order 2,800 liquor shops will be impacted.

It was the end of the road 2,800 liquor shops with the Karnataka High Court striking down a batch of petitions that sought for the de notification of highways passing through city limits.

M G Road and other central roads in Bengaluru fell under the classification of a highway and the Supreme Court had said that serving of liquor within 500 metres of a highway was barred.

With the Union transport ministry saying that none of these NH stretches qualified for 'deemed denotification' as per their policy, the High Court said that denotifying these stretches "would tantamount to permitting isolated discontinuities in NH corridors scattered over the NH network within the state; this would not serve the very objective of having NHs."

The court further said that it cannot interfere at this juncture. If there was no legal requirement for the state government to approach the Union of India in terms of the provisions of the National Highways Act, 1956, the State of Karnataka would not have so approached the Ministry of Transport of Union of India for this purpose.

As a result of this order 2,800 liquor shops will be impacted. The Excise Department of Karnataka says that the bar and pub owners will now have to relocate.

OneIndia News