CHENNAI: Striking down certain clauses of a circular governing the submission of a no-objection certificate (NOC) by the lessor to run bars attached to Tasmac outlets, the Madras High Court recently directed that it shall be Tasmac that has to obtain the NOC.
Allowing a batch of writ petitions filed by bar owners, Justice Anita Sumanth passed the order, setting aside clauses 1 to 6 of the July 22, 2014, government circular that set certain conditions for tender for bar license. The circular had provided for submission of the NOC by the successful highest bidder seven days after opening of the tender.
It would now be Tasmac that should obtain the NOC from property owners and a hassle-free, transparent and smooth procedure must be followed, the judge ordered, adding that the NOC must be obtained prior to issuing the tender notification. It should also be ensured that the events of tender-opening days are videographed.
She directed Tasmac to issue a fresh circular strictly in line with the decisions of the division bench in the cases of G Sethupathy, S Ganesan and R Ramkumar.
The judge also ordered the installation of CCTV cameras in all the Tasmac outlets that lacked them now. It should be ensured that these cameras are functional. Justice Anita Sumanth quashed the tender notification issued on August 2, 2022.