NEW DELHI: Beginning Saturday it will be the end of the road for liquor vendors on National and State highways. Refusing to budge from its earlier order, the Supreme Court ordered banning of liquor vends within 500 metres from National and State highways in a bid to curb drunken driving.
Drunken driving has been a major cause of deaths on roads and the apex court refused to give any relief to hotels and restaurants that have been demanding reprieve as the ban would lead to revenue loss.
A Bench led by CJI J S Khehar, however, modified its earlier order and said, “In municipal areas having less than 20,000 population situated on highways, the (earlier) distance of 500 metres has been reduced to 220 metres.”
The court in its earlier order had banned liquor vends within 500 metres of highways but said it shall remain operative in areas other than those specified in Friday’s clarification order.
The Bench exempted Meghalaya and Sikkim from the purview of the December 15, 2016, order in view of their peculiar geographical conditions.
But it declined a similar relief to Himachal Pradesh, saying the direction to reduce the distance to 220 metres would be sufficient to cover the State’s demand.