HYDERABAD: Justice N Tukaramji of the Telangana High Court on Friday adjourned to Saturday the hearing on a writ petition filed by D Venkateshwar Rao and four others, seeking a stay on the entire process of allotment of retail liquor (A4) shops across the state.
The petitioners have challenged the extension of the deadline for submission of applications beyond the originally notified date of October 18.
During the hearing, senior counsel Avinash Desai, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise had acted in violation of Rule 12(5) of the Telangana Excise and Prohibition Rules by extending the deadline beyond the schedule notified in the gazette. He contended that the extension had unfairly altered the competitive landscape, adversely affecting genuine applicants.
To substantiate his arguments, Desai cited data from Adilabad district, where 40 A4 shops were up for allotment. While 391 applications were received up to October 17, an additional 320 were filed on October 18 alone, bringing the total to 711.
He maintained that the extension, purportedly granted due to a bandh call by the BC JAC, led to a surge in last-minute applications, which benefited the government financially but undermined fairness.
“The government cannot violate its own rules to increase revenue under the pretext of public inconvenience,” Desai argued, urging the court to stay the entire allotment process.
Opposing the plea, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Md Imran Khan contended that the petitioners had challenged only the Commissioner’s memo dated October 18, and not the corresponding gazette notifications issued across 34 districts.
He informed the court that a total of 89,343 applications had been received by October 18, while 5,793 additional applications were filed after the extension, a marginal increase of about five percent.
Khan argued that the extension caused no material prejudice to the petitioners and that staying the process would derail a state-wide policy measure.
“If the process is stayed, the entire exercise will be vitiated, whereas, even if the petition succeeds, only 5,793 applicants would be affected,” the AAG submitted, seeking a day’s time to place relevant judicial precedents before the court.
After hearing both sides, Justice Tukaramji adjourned the matter to Saturday.
