New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday banned the sale of liquor within 500 meters on either side of national and state highways across the country.
A bench headed by Chief Justice T.S. Thakur said that all liquor vendors holding licenses for selling liquor would continue to do so till their licenses were valid or till March 31, 2017, whichever was earlier. The licenses would not be renewed.
The top court’s order was on a public interest litigation filed by an NGO called ‘Arrive Safe’.
Last Wednesday, a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices DY Chandrachud and LN Rao said it would try to end drunk driving on highways.
‘Arrive Safe’ said that 1.42 lakh people die annually in road accidents, many of which are caused by drunk driving. The NGO said the easy availability of liquor from stores on highways was a major reason for drunk driving.
