CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has quashed an Excise department directive that required all IMFL ON shop licensees across the state to obtain and maintain a valid fire safety certificate or NOC, holding that the authorities cannot impose obligations not contemplated under law.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Chittaranjan Dash passed the order while considering a petition filed by Cuttack-based IMFL ON shop licensee S Sanamakh Rao against the communication of the Excise commissioner on December12, 2025 directing district excise authorities to ensure that all licensees obtained fire safety certificates and submitted compliance reports on priority.
The petitioner argued that neither the Excise department nor the Excise Act empowered authorities to insist on such a condition for continuation of the licence.
Moreover, the petitioner’s establishment, constructed on an area of less than 500 sq mtr and with a height below 12 mtr, did not fall within the category of premises required to obtain a fire NOC under the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety (Amendment) Rules, 2019.
Accepting the contention, the bench observed that Rule 11 of the Fire Safety Rules applies only to buildings and occupancies specified under Rule 9, which, after the 2019 amendment, mandates fire safety certification only for specified categories of premises based on factors such as height and built-up area.
“The authority cannot compel a person to do a thing, not provided in law nor can compel a person to meet the requisition if the situation keeps the same outside the purview of the statutory provision,” the court said.
Holding that the Excise department had exceeded its authority, the bench ruled, “Insisting upon a certificate to be issued from the fire department or an NOC is unwarranted and beyond the scope of the Excise Act and the Rules framed thereunder.” It quashed the communication, holding that a blanket requirement for all IMFL ON shops to obtain fire NOC, without considering the statutory criteria under the amended rules, was legally unsustainable.
