THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU REP. BY SEC. & ORS. versus K. BALU & ANR.
[2017] 14 S.C.R. 614, Supreme Court of India, 2017
Outcome: Disposed off
Segment: Ratio
[2017] 14 S.C.R. 614 
A 
THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU REP. BY SEC. & ORS. 
v. 
K. BALU & ANR. 
(I. A. Nos. 1060-1062 of2017) 
B 
m 
(Civil Appeal Nos. 12164-12166 of2016) 
NOVEMBER 13,2017 
[DIPAK MISRA, CJI, A. M. KHANWILKAR AND 
c 
DR. D. Y. CHANDRACHUD, JJ.] 
Liquor: National Highways and State Highways - Drink and 
drive accidents - I.A. seeking clarification of order dated 11 July 
2017 - By order dated II .July 2017, this Court had made 
observation that the purpose of the direction contained in order 
dated 15 December 2016 was to deal with the sale of liquor along 
D 
and in proximity of highways which provide connectivity between 
cities. towns and villages - The order did not prohibit /icenced 
establishments within municipal areas - It further noted that the 
said obsen1ation would govern other municipal areas as well - Held: 
The observation in order dated 11 Ju~y 2017 make it clear that the 
E purport of judgment dated 15 December 2016 is to prohibit 
co1111ee1ivi~y between cities. towns and villages - In other words, 
this will 110! operate to prohibit licenced establishments within. 
municipal areas - The clarification to the e.ffect that it "shall govern 
other municipal areas as well" is c/earzv intended to set the matter 
at rest in relation to other parts of the country so .as to obviate the 
F 
need for repeated applications before this court - The expression 
"other municipal areas" will apply to all municipal areas wherever 
situated - Jnterlocyt01:v
applications accordingly disposed of 
State of Tamil Nadu v. K. Ba/11 Civil Appeal No. 12164-
12166 of 2016 decided by Supreme Court on 
G 
15.12.2016; Arrive Safe Society of Chandigarh v. The 
Union Territ01y of Chandigarh SLP (C) No. 10243 of 
2017 decided by Supreme Court on ll.7.2017 -
referred to. 
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: I. A. Nos. I 060-1062 of 
H 2017 in Civil Appeal Nos. 12164-12166 of2016. 
614
THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU REP. BY SEC. & ORS. v. 
615 
K. BALU & ANR. 
From the Judgment and Order dated 25.02.2013 in Writ Petition A 
No, 23773 of2012 and Order dated 28.03.2013 in M. P. Nos. 9 and 10 
of2013 in W. P. No. 23773 of2012 of the High Court of Judicature at 
Madras. 
Uday Gupta, Hiren Dasan, Chand Qureshi, Advs. for the 
Appellants. 
-
. B 
Ms. Pinky Anand, ASG, Ajit Kumar Sinha, A .. K. Panda, Mukul 
Rohatgi, Subramonium Prasad. Dr. Manish Singh vi, Sr. Advs., Ms. Binu 
Tamta, Rajcsh Ranjan, P. K. Mullick, Ms. Snidha Mehra, M. Yogesh 
Kanna, Mrs. Sujatha Bagadhi, Sailja Nanda Mishra, Advs. for the 
~00~. 
c 
The following Order of the Court was passed: 
O_RDER 
I. The present application is at the behest of the State of Tamil 
Nadu for clarification ofan Order dated 11 July 2017 passed in Special D 
Leave Petition (Civil) No. 10243 of2017. · 
2 On 15 December 2016, this Court delivered a judgment in State 
of Tamil Nadu v K Balu1, by which the following directions were issued: 
(i) 
All states and union territories shall forthwith cease and 
desist from granting licences for the sale of liquor along 
E 
· national and state highways; 
(ii) The prohibition contained in (i) above shall extend to and 
include stretches of such highways which fall within the 
limits of a municipal corporation, city, town or local authority; 
(iii) The existi.ng licences which have already been renewed 
prior to the date of this order shall continue until the term of 
the licence
expires but no later than 1April2017; 
F 
(iv) All signages and advertisements of the availability ofliquor 
shall be prohibited and existing ones removed forthwith both 
on national and state highways; 
G 
(v) No shop for the sale of liquor shall be (i) visible from a 
natio nal or state highway; (ii) directly accessible from a 
national or state highway and(iii) situated within a distance 
'(Civil Appeal No. 12164-12166 of2016) 
H
616 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[2017] 14 S.C.R. 
A 
of 500 metres of the outer edge of the national or state 
highway or of a service lane along the highway. 
(vi) All States and Union territories are mandated to. strictly 
enforce the above directions. ;Lhe Chief Secretaries and 
. '·' 
Directors General of Police shall within one month chalk 
B 
out a plan for enforcement in consultation with the state 
revenue and home departments. 
Responsibility shall be assigned inter alia to District 
Collectors and Superintendents of Police and other · 
competent authorities. Compliance shall be strictly 
C 
monitored by calling for fortnightly reports on action taken. 
These directions issue under Article 142 of the Constitution. 
25 We dispose of the appeals and transfer petitions in the 
above terms. There shall be no order as to costs. 
3. Subsequently, on 31March2017, this Court interalia directed 
D that: 
E 
"We accordingly direct that the following paragraph shall be 
inserted, after direction (v) in paragraph 24 of the operative 
directions of this Court in the judgment dated 15 December 2016 
namely: 
· 
"In the case of areas comprised in local bodies with a population 
of 20,000 people or less, the distance of 500 metres shall stand 
reduced to 220 metres". 
4. The earlier directions contained in the judgment dated 15 
F December 2016 have since been explained further by this Court on 11 
July 2017 inArrive Safe Society of Chandigarh v The Union Territory · 
of Chandigarh2•
In that case, by a notification dated .16 March 2017, 
the Chandigarh administration had modified an earlier notification dated" 
21 October 2005. By the earlier notification, major arterial roads 
(described as VI, V2 and V3 roads) were notified as state highways. 
G By the subsequent notification, all Vl, V2 and V3 roads were declared 
. as major district roads except for national highway No. 21 and Madhya 
Marg from Panchkula border to Mullanpur border. The validity of the 
notification dated 16 March 2017 was upheld by the High Court of Punjab 
and Haryana. 
H 
'·SLP(C)No.10243of2017
THE STATE OF TAMIL NADU REP. BY SEC. & ORS. v. 
617 
K. BALU & ANR. 
5. While affirming the judgment of the High Court, this Court in 
A 
its order dated 11 July 2017 held thus: 
0 The judgment of this Court dated 15 December 2016 prohibits 
the grant oflicenccs for the sale o fliquor along and in proximity 
of the National arid State Highways including those falling within 
the limits of municipal corporations, cities and towns or local B 
authorities. Directions (i) and(ii) extracted earlier did not prevent 
the Administration from re-classifying inter-sectoral roads within. 
· the city from state highways to major district roads. The exercise 
carried out by <:;:handigarh Administration does not breach the 
directions issued by this Court. It is neither in violation of the 
tenns of the order nor o( the purpose and intendment behind 
C 
those directions." 
'" 
Having upheld the validity of the notification issued by the Chandigarh 
adJllinistration, this Court also made the following observations in 
; paragraph 7 of the judgment: 
"7. The purpose of the directions contained in the order dated 15 
D 
December 2016 is to deal with the sale of liquor along and in 
proximity of highways properly understood, which provide 
connectivity between cities, towns and villages. The order docs 
not prohibit licensed establishments within municipal areas. This 
clarification shall govern other municipal areas as well.. We have 
E 
considered it appropriate to issue this .clarification
to set at rest 
any ambiguity and to obviate repeated recourse to IAs, before 
the Court'~. 
·· 
The above observations make it clear that the purport of the judgment 
dated 15 December 2016 is to prohibit the sale of liquor along and in 
F 
proximity of highways which provide connectivity between cities, towns · 
and villages. In other words, this will not operate _,te prohibit licenced 
establishments within municipal areas. The clarjfieation to the effect 
that it "shall govern other municipal areas as well" is clearly intended to 
set the matter at rest in relation to other parts of the country so as to 
• obviate the need for repeated applications before this Court. 'The G 
.. expression "other municipal areas" will apply to all municipal areas, · 
wherever situated. 
6. The Interlocutory Applications are accordingly disposed of. 
. Devika Gujral 
IAs disposed of. 
_H