SC directs centre to ban sale of liquor alongside National Highway

Considering the rising accident cases caused due to drunken driving on the National Highway, the Supreme Court of India directed the centre government to ban the liquor shops in and around the NH.

Even though the SC asked the states to ban the liquor shops, the shops may not stop functioning immediately as the same court permitted them to operate till the period they were having their licenses.

It was identified that every year nearly one and half lakh accident death occur in the NH across the country. As per the report, the drunken driving was the main reason for the huge accident rates.

The widely appreciated verdict was made by the SC bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur while they were considering a batch of petitions seeking a direction from the court to amend the law permitting sales of the liquor in and around the National Highways.

During the early stage of the trial, the court sought the opinion of centre government as well as state governments in the issue.

Interestingly, when the preponderance of the state governments and central government welcomed the ban, the Punjab government sought some relaxations.

While considering the case, the court came heavily on the Punjab government for supporting the liquor lobby.

The court observed that the huge revenue provided by the liquor business prompts the states to take the issues caused by this business lightly. It indirectly reminded that states that the general good of the public is more important than revenue generation.