If the Tamil Nadu government wants to make a paradigm shift in its prohibition policy by permitting the serving of liquor in stadia, conference halls and convention centres, why doesn’t it “boldly” amend the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 itself rather than just amending the statutory rules framed under the law, asked the Madras High Court on Friday, March 15, 2024.
Sitting along with Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala, Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy posed the question during the hearing of two public interest litigation (PIL) petitions filed by K. Balu, of the Advocates Forum for Social Justice, who had challenged two Government Orders issued on March 18 and April 24 last year that introduced a special liquor licence regime.
Senior Counsel N.L. Rajah told the court that the government had come up with a third G.O. on Thursday (March 14, 2024) for the issuance of special licences to possess and serve liquor in stadia, conference halls and convention centres during national/international events, and that his client intended to challenge the latest G.O. too, by filing a separate PIL petition.
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