SC on Thursday announced that no liquor would be sold on state highways
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a ban on the sale of liquor on state highways, stating that licenses of all liquor shops in and around the National Highways would be closed. It has said that no liquor would be sold on state highways from April 1st. The bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur, however, the bench said that they can operate till March 31, 2017. The court has said that the licenses of liquor shops would not be renewed after March 31, 2017.
Notably, every year 1.5 Lakh die in road mishaps. So to reduce the number of mishaps, the court has decided to ban the sale of liquor on state highways from April 1st.
The Supreme Court came down heavily on states for not heeding the centre’s advice to not give licenses to vend on the highways. The bench also pointed out that states have increased the number of licenses. Notably, the first message was given out in the year 2007, since then centre has been continuously sending notices to the states.
TS Thakur in a statement has said that they will direct highway authorities to remove all the sign boards. He feels that a highway should be free of all distractions and attractions. According to him, visibility is the first temptation.
The bench also expressed its unhappiness over alleged inaction by various states in removing liquor shops alongside roads as they give rise to drunken driving and to fatal accidents.
As per an analysis of road accident data 2015 around 1, 374 accidents and 400 deaths take place every day on Indian roads it leads to 57 accidents and loss of at least 17 lives every hour. Supreme Court’s this decision will surely help in reducing in the number of accidents that take place on Indian highways.
