Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)
Bengaluru, Jul 5: Buoyed by what Punjab government has done, the state too is thinking in terms of ammending law governing excise goods so that liquor sale can be allowed to be conducted on highways without in any way violating the Supreme Court (SC) directive.
The state government had approached union department of highways sometime back with a request to denotify certain sections of the national highways into local roads. The department is not in a mood to give any concrete assurance to the state that its request would be acceded to. As per information, the state is considering the idea of modifying the definition of 'liquor sale' so that it does not fall under the ambit of the Supreme Court order that has specified distance to be maintained between highways and liquor outlets.
It is said that the state government wants to save jobs of over a lac people working in over 5,000 bars and restaurants located on highways from being driven to streets. It is learnt that the proposed ammendments will be placed before the law department and only after getting clearance, they will be brought before the legislature by way of ammendment bill. Punjab government had redefined liquor sale to make consumption of liquor within the premises of liquor outlets as 'supply of liquor', not sale.
Karnataka government is expected to get opinion from legal experts, with the main intention of retaining bars located in central business district in the city. The chief minister has already instructed five leading departments to consider a way out to help these bars to reopen. During the meeting held at his home office on Tuesday evening, Siddaramaiah asked the departments to find a way out of this problem and suggest ways and means within a week. He also wants opinion about whether it would be enough if the ammendment is brought through a bill or whether it would be advisable to promulgate an ordinance.
The above ammendment adopted by Punjab government has been challenged in Punjab and Haryana high court and the high court has issued notices to the government seeking its response by July 24.
In a separate ruling on July 4, the Supreme Court said that there is nothing wrong with denotifying highways inside cities.