NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on June 24 stayed an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, restraining the Haryana Government from implementing its total prohibition policy from July in respect of 13 three star hotels in the State. The interim stay was granted by a vacation bench, comprising Justice A.S. Anand and Justice S.B. Majumdar, while issuing police on a special leave petition by the Haryana Government, challenging the impugned order of the High Court dated June 14.
Notices, returnable within 10 days, were issued to the 13 hoteliers who had approached the High Court through a writ petition, questioning the validity of the prohibition policy of the State. By the impugned order the High Court, while admitting the writ petition, had allowed them to continue to serve liquor at their bars till further orders.
The apex court judges, however, made it clear that the fate of the special leave petition by the State Government before the court would not come in the way of the High Court’s hearing and disposing of the writ petition filed by the hoteliers. The Supreme Court also stayed the June 14 order of the High Court in the case of Haryana Distillers Employees Union vs. State of Haryana.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 26, 1996
