Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court questioned the state government on Friday, October 24, for allegedly violating the rules it had itself framed for the allocation of liquor shops.
The court observed that the government could not act arbitrarily and must adhere strictly to the established regulations.
Justice N Tukaramji made these remarks while hearing a petition that challenged the extension of the liquor shop application deadline from October 18 to 23.
The petition was filed by D Venkateshwara Rao and four others from Hyderabad, contending that the Excise Commissioner’s proceedings extending the deadline lacked legal backing.
Senior advocate Avinash Desai, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the regulations did not permit such extensions, citing similar precedents where the Andhra Pradesh High Court had struck down a comparable decision.
Govt’s response
Additional Advocate General Mohammad Imran Khan, representing the state, explained that the extension became necessary due to a statewide political bandh and technical issues on October 18.
He informed the court that 89,343 applications had been received by October 18, and an additional 5,793 applications were submitted after the deadline was extended.
He further stated that the government had the authority to modify procedures in the selection process.
Extension lacks validity: HC
The court observed that if the extension lacked legal validity, the allocation process would need to be halted through interim orders. However, it allowed the process to continue based on applications submitted up to October 18.
Granting a day’s time for the state to produce explanations and relevant Supreme Court judgments, Justice Tukaramji adjourned the hearing to Saturday.
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