Taking note of the alarming rise in road accidents and the constitutional mandate of protecting human life under Article 21, the Rajasthan High Court has ordered that any liquor shop situated within the restricted limit of 500 metres from a National or State Highway shall not remain operational.

The High Court was dealing with the issue regarding the location of liquor shops adjacent to highways. The Court was concerned with the fact that the State continued to witness an alarming rise in fatal road accidents, leading to the tragic and avoidable loss of valuable human lives.

The Division Bench of Justice Sanjeet Purohit and Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati held, “Thus, keeping in view the statistics disclosed by the State the alarming rise in road accidents, the clear constitutional mandate of protecting human life under Article 21, and the binding directions issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in K. Balu (supra)—which explicitly emphasise public safety and road safety as the paramount considerations underlying the prohibition on liquor vends along highways and the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. M.M. Dhera, this Court is of the firm view that any liquor shop situated within the restricted limit of 500 metres from a National or State Highway shall not remain operational.”

Advocate M.M. Dhera represented the Petitioner while AAG Mahaveer Bishnoi represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

In a separate suo motu proceeding concerning “Road and Public Safety,” the Court had recorded deep anguish over recurring incidents in which nearly one hundred persons lost their lives within a short span of two weeks, as widely reported in leading newspapers. The Court, vide an order dated October 6, 2025, directed the Excise Commissioner to file a detailed affidavit affirming strict compliance with Rule 75 of the Rajasthan Excise Rules, 1956, as well as the binding directions of the Supreme Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. K. Balu (2017) and its subsequent clarificatory orders.

Reasoning

The Bench took note of the recent data published in the NDTV Rajasthan report and the Hindustan Times (Jaipur Edition), indicating a steep rise of nearly 8% in cases of drunk driving in the State of Rajasthan during the year 2025. While 40,715 cases were recorded in 2024, the figure had escalated to 43,788 by September 2025, marking an alarming increase of approximately 7.55%. “This surge is not a statistical anomaly but stands reflected in severe and recurring consequences on public safety and human life”, it added.

The Bench further found that within a span of merely two days, at least 28 deaths had occurred in two major road accidents. 12 deaths and 10 grievous injuries occured in Jaipur’s Harmada area when a speeding dumper truck rammed into 17 vehicles, and 15 deaths in Phalodi on NH-15 when a traveller bus collided with a stationary trailer. “These incidents demonstrate that alcohol misuse and reckless driving have reached dangerous proportions, posing a direct threat to the fundamental right to life under Article 21”, it held.

The Bench noted that the proximity of liquor vends to highways, and the ease of accessibility along accident-prone stretches, had been judicially recognised as factors requiring strict regulation in the interest of public safety. The Bench referred to the State’s affidavit where it was mentioned that 1102 liquor shops are located on National and State Highways, and the justification advanced was the involvement of revenue amounting to Rs. 2221.78 crore.

“This Court expresses extreme concern regarding the manner in which the directions of the Hon’ble Apex Court have been diluted and the discretion granted to the State Government has been misutilized. The admitted operation of 1102 liquor shops on National and State Highways effectively nullifies the safety objective underlying the Apex Court’s orders, as well as the road-safety considerations repeatedly emphasised by this Court. Such deviation cannot be countenanced, particularly when the State is already witnessing alarming road-accident statistics”, it mentioned.

The Bench thus directed the respondents to remove or relocate all liquor shops falling within the prohibited zone, irrespective of whether they fall under municipal areas, local self-governing bodies or statutory development authorities.“It shall be open for the respondents to shift or relocate the said 1102 liquor shops to conforming locations beyond 500 metres within a period of two months. This Court also directs that the State Government shall ensure that no hoardings, signages or advertisements relating to the availability of liquor/liquor shops are visible from the National or State Highways, even while relocating the shops beyond the mandatory distance of 500 metres, in strict and uncompromising adherence to the directions issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court”, it ordered.

The matter has now been listed on January 26, 2025.

Cause Title: Kanhaiya Lal Soni v. The State Of Rajasthan (Case No.: D.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 6324/2023)

Appearance

Petitioner: Advocates M.M. Dhera, Abhinav Jain

Respondent:AAG Mahaveer Bishnoi, Advocates Kshitiz Vyas, Karan Singh Shekhawat, Pawan Singh Rathore

Click here to read/download Order


Rajasthan High CourtJustice Sanjeet PurohitJustice Pushpendra Singh Bhati

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.