Hotel owners` association moves HC against full day ban on sale of liquor
An association of the owners of hotels, restaurants and bars on Tuesday moved the Bombay High Court, challenging the orders passed by the Mumbai city and suburban Collectors, declaring the entire day on the counting day, reported the PTI.
The votes of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 will be counted on June 4 which is declared as a dry day, reported the PTI.
A dry day means the purchase and consumption of alcohol are completely restricted at stores, restaurants and other places.
The Indian Hotel & Restaurant Association filed two separate petitions through advocates Veena Thadani and Vishal Thadani, claiming that it was arbitrary to ban the sale of liquor for the entire day as the counting of votes is likely to be completed and the election results would be declared by afternoon, according to the PTI.
The plea is likely to be heard on Wednesday by a vacation bench.
As per the plea, the petitioner association had in April approached the Mumbai City Collector and the Mumbai District Suburban Collector, requesting them to review their decision declaring the whole day of June 4 as a dry day, as per the PTI.
However, the collectors said no such review could be done as the orders were passed pursuant to the directives from the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The petitions claimed that the association members pay huge amounts as licence fees to the state government for carrying on business, whereas there are several illicit liquor manufacturers and bootleggers who have been manufacturing and selling illicit liquor as well as Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer in Mumbai, the news agency reported.
Whenever the authorized outlets for sale of liquor are closed, for various reasons, such illegal businesses thrive and bootleggers make huge profits through the illegal and illicit sale of liquor, taking undue advantage of the fact that liquor is not officially available, as per the PTI.
The pleas sought for the collectors` orders to be modified to state that the establishments which sell liquor be permitted to open up for business after the declaration of results instead of the whole day.
(with PTI inputs)
