Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the State Government on Friday to implement the recommendations issued by Madhya Pradesh Human Rights Commission (MPHRC) regarding removal of liquor shops in residential colonies of the State.
The court has ordered the Government to remove the liquor shops in one month of receipt of court’s order. It rejected the arguments put forth by Government that the liquor shops have been established according to the rules and removing them would cause financial losses to the Government.
Holding that the MPHRC had issued the recommendations after duly considering the relevant official rules and the human rights of the affected persons in residential colonies, the court directed the State Government to implement its recommendations.
MPHRC had filed petition in the High Court on May 23 this year after the State Government failed to act on its recommendations that were submitted by the Commission in September. In its recommendations, the Commission had asked the Government to remove liquor shops from dense residential areas.
The Commission had issued the recommendations after several residents of the State capital filed a petition before it pointing towards serious problems they had to face due to mushrooming of liquor shops in residential areas. The residents had pointed out that two liquor shops were operating at Nehru Nagar locality where more than 500 families reside. They had pointed out that anti-social drunkards created ruckus in the locality making it especially unsafe for women and children.
In its recommendations, the Commission had noted that it is duty of the Government to keep the public interest paramount when considering any application for issuance of liquor sale licence. It had even commented that there are no such shops in the Government colonies where high officials reside.
