The Supreme Courtroom on Tuesday vacated the keep on the order of the Punjab and Haryana Excessive Courtroom, by which it was ordered that these granted licences shall not function their liquor enterprise at their respective vends past March 31, 2025. An in depth order in the meantime was but to be launched within the matter.
Disposing of a particular go away petition (SLP) filed by the Chandigarh Administration, difficult the order of the excessive court docket, a division bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Manmohan granted two weeks to the events concerned — Chandigarh Administration, Kler Wines, and others — to finish the pleadings. The bench additional directed the excessive court docket to take up the matter for ultimate disposal instantly after the pleadings are accomplished.
In the meantime, the apex court docket additionally clarified that within the occasion the excessive court docket bench is unable to resolve the problem on the scheduled date, it could subject acceptable interim orders after listening to each events and offering causes for a similar.
The excessive court docket on March 26, whereas listening to the three petitions filed by M/S Kler Wines and one other, had directed a established order on the liquor vends subject, instructing that these granted liquor vends mustn’t proceed their liquor enterprise on the respective retailers past March 31, 2025.
On the Supreme Courtroom, for petitioner, Chandigarh Administration, Tushar Mehta, Solicitor Basic of India, appeared, whereas for respondents, Kler Wines and others, senior advocates Mukul Rohtagi, Puneet Bali and Bikramjit Singh Patwalia made the illustration.
Earlier, on March 26, the excessive court docket had issued a discover of movement to the Chandigarh Administration for April 3, whereas ordering the upkeep of the established order on three petitions difficult the liquor vends tendering course of in Chandigarh. The excessive court docket had raised issues over the allocation of liquor vends, orally observing that granting even 10 vends to a single entity went in opposition to the provisions of the Competitors Act. The act goals to curb practices detrimental to competitors, encourage truthful commerce, and safeguard shopper pursuits.
The controversy started when the Chandigarh liquor vends tendering course of for the monetary 12 months 2025-2026 got here beneath judicial scrutiny. A contractor alleged cartelisation and violations of the excise coverage, claiming that the tender outcomes indicated that over 87 out of 97 vends have been allotted to merely two or three people. These people allegedly operated beneath totally different agency names or by means of their kin, associates, and workers.
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One of many petitions, filed by M/S Kler Wines and one other, argued that all the tendering course of was carried out in violation of prescribed guidelines. The petitioners contended that the discover inviting tender (NIT) issued on March 13 was flawed and that the method itself was indicative of collusion amongst bidders.
