Denotifying highways to overcome liquor ban: Plea in SC today

The Supreme Court on Thursday will hear a petition challenging a decision which denotified state highways in Punjab to beat the liquor ban. A petition filed by Arrive Safe Society challenged the decision of the Chandigarh administration to denotify state highways and rename them as major district road to overcome the Supreme Court's order which banned liquor shops and bars within metres of state and national highways.

The matter was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of



India, K S Khehar which agreed to take up the matter on Thursday. The petitioners pointed out that the administrative order was to overcome the SC order. It is a colourable exercise of power, the petitioners stated.

It was pointed out that all six roads connecting Chandigarh to other towns were state highways. However, now they have been declared as major roads only to overcome the ban. The petitioners sought that the notification be quashed and as an interim measure be stayed.