The Telangana high court has questioned the state government for violating its own regulations regarding the allocation of liquor shops.
The court asked why the government had extended the deadline for liquor licence applications and whether such an extension had any legal sanction.
A high court bench headed by Justice N Tukaramji, hearing a petition filed by D Venkateswara Rao and four others, observed that the government cannot act arbitrarily and must adhere to its prescribed rules.
The petition challenged the Excise Department’s decision to extend the application deadline from October 18 to October 23.
The court noted that if the extension was legally untenable, it would be forced to issue interim orders suspending the entire allotment process. However, it allowed the government to continue processing applications received up to October 18.
Senior advocate Avinash Desai, representing the petitioners, argued that excise rules did not permit deadline extensions, citing a similar instance in Andhra Pradesh where such an extension was struck down by the high court.
Defending the decision, Additional Advocate General Mohammed Imran Khan said the deadline was extended due to technical glitches and a statewide political bandh on October 18, which disrupted public access.
He informed the court that 89,343 applications were received before the initial deadline, and an additional 5,793 applications came in after the extension.
He also contended that the government retained the power to make changes in the selection process. Granting the state a day’s time to file a detailed response with supporting Supreme Court judgments, the judge adjourned the hearing to Saturday.
