Plea Filed In SC Against Madras HC Order Allowing Online Sale & Home Delivery Of Liquor

A plea has been preferred before the Supreme Court against the judgement of Madras High Court dated 8^th of May, wherein the High Court allowed the sale of liquor via online medium and door delivery system.

The Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed by Mr. Seeman who is Chief Coordinator of Naam Thamilar Katchi (NTK), a political party and claims to be a public spirited person. The petitioner in his application has said that he was not a party before the Madras High Court and has filed the present Special Leave Petition, for the betterment and interest of the people of Tamil Nadu.

The petitioner has stated the impugned order as “oxymoronic” and challenged it on following questions of law:-

• Whether the High Court was right in allowing the State to sell the Liquors through online portal and home delivery, during lockdown, without considering the consequence of sale during Covid-19 pandemic?
• Whether the High Court failed to consider the fact that the liquors/ wines are not “Essential Commodities”, as defined under Essential Commodities Act, 1955?
• Whether the High Court failed to consider the fact that consuming Alcohol would lead to the severe health consequences and effects during the Covid-19 Pandemic, as per report of the World Health Organization?
• Whether the High Court has failed to fix the responsibility upon the erring authority for negligently flouting the guidelines to contain the pandemic?

The petitioner has stated that when the Wine Shops/ Outlets were opened in the State, chaos prevailed outside many Wine shops in various districts, after the liquor outlets opened after a gap of nearly 45 days of the COVID-19 lockdown. The Police Personals were incapable of handling the overcrowding of the people in front of the Wine Shops/ Outlets in various districts of Tamil Nadu, giving arising to the spread of Covid-19 amongst the Public.

Thus, the petitioner is seeking to set aside the order of Madras High Court on the ground that the right to live with human dignity, of the People of Tamil Nadu, which is guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, has been violated due to the acts and lapses of the State of Tamil Nadu and thus the sale of liquor during the pandemic must be prohibited.

-India Legal Bureau