A clubs and hotels body of Tamil Nadu today moved the Supreme Court seeking exemption from the ban on serving liquor in their establishments which are situated within 500 meters of highways.
A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said that it would hear the matter after the vacation in the second week of July.
During a brief hearing, senior advocate Arvind Datar appearing for hotels/clubs body said they be granted exemption from the apex court order and allowed to serve liquor to their customers as the ban is resulting in a huge revenue-loss.
The apex court had on March 31 said that liquor vends within 500 metres of national and state highways will have to shut down from April 1.
It had exempted hilly states of Sikkim, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh and areas having population up to 20,000.
During the hearing today, Datar said that clubs have regular members and if they are not allowed to serve liquor to them, it will have huge impact on their business.
He said that if the hotels on the highways are allowed to serve liquor to their customers then sealed bottle will be sent to rooms and nobody can take them outside.
Datar said, "Only 0.88 per cent of total liquor consumption in Tamil Nadu is from clubs and hotels".
He added that out of 10 hotels in Chennai's Mount Road, eight have been closed due to the apex court order which is having crippling effect on their business.
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh also moved the apex court seeking exemption on the line of Sikkim and Meghalaya saying it is situated at far-higher altitude than these states.
"We were not able to approach the apex court earlier for relief as we were trying to ascertain how many liquor vends will be affected by the order," a counsel appearing for the state said.
The bench said it would look into the matter in detail after the summer vacation.
The apex court on March 31, in a significant order passed on pleas of various states seeking modification in the court's December 15, 2016 verdict, had made it clear the judgement banning liquor vends along highways would also be applicable to bars, pubs and restaurants as drunken-driving leads to fatal road accidents.
It had further modified the 500-metre cap rule for Himachal Pradesh and local areas which are alongside highways with a population up to 20,000, and said they may have liquor vends at a distance of 220 metres from the highways.
Besides some liquor vendors' associations, states like Kerala, Punjab and Telangana had approached the apex court seeking modification in the judgement.
The verdict had come on a PIL claiming that nearly 1.42 lakh people die in road accidents per year and that the drunken driving is a major contributor.
It had also directed that all signages indicating the presence of liquor vends will be prohibited along national and state highways.
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