Law and spirit

Supreme Court's highway liquor ban merits a relook

The illogicality of the Supreme Court’s ban on liquor vending up to 500 metres from national and state highways has been underlined by the scramble by states to circumvent the spirit of the order by reclassifying these roads as urban thoroughfares and hotels and eateries reorienting entrance gates. Given the estimated potential cumulative revenue loss of Rs 65,000 crore to exchequers and countless job losses, the Centre has shown sympathy for states, so the denotification exercise is likely to proceed with pragmatic rapidity. A review petition is also being considered. All of this suggests that states and the hospitality industry