Successive governments in T.N. have taken a consistent policy on liquor sale despite its ills, laments Madras HC
The Hindu
Though policy decisions on other subjects keep changing with the change in regime, sale of liquor alone remains static, says judge
While upholding the right of an elected government to review policy decisions taken by the previous government, the Madras High Court on Saturday lamented that successive governments in the State had taken a consistent policy on sale of liquor alone, though it is “detrimental to the welfare of people and interest of the society at large.”
Dismissing a case against government’s latest decision on establishing a cooperative training institute, Justice R. Suresh Kumar wrote: “In certain areas alone, all successive governments, for several decades in this State, have consistently taken same policy decision which support the earlier government’s decision irrespective of the political dispensation.
“Some of such kind of decisions taken, though are detrimental to the welfare of the people and interest of the society at large in the State, the successive governments have not given up such policy because they have an eye on the revenue for the State exchequer.”
He went on to write: “Illustratively, this court can point out that, in respect of prohibition policy, for the past about five decades, very many successive governments have been continuously and steadily following the same prohibition policy under which the State, either through licensees or through State agency like Tasmac, made available liquor to the people... knowing well that such a policy decision is certainly injurious and detrimental to people at large and also against the growth of the State.”
The judge rued that even such policy decisions, despite being detrimental to the interests of the society at large, could not be subjected to judicial review. “Courts have laid off their hands when these policy decisions were questioned,” he said.
Therefore, the present cases filed by G. Sendrayan, president of Yercaud Lamp Cooperative Society in Salem district, challenging government’s decision to stop construction of a State-level cooperative training institute at Yercaud Taluk could not be entertained. There were no plausible reasons in the eye of law to interfere with such policy decision, the judge said.
Initially, the writ petitioner had moved the court challenging a letter written by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies on July 28, 2021 to stop construction of the training institute. The litigant pointed out the construction work had begun only after the previous AIADMK government had sanctioned ₹61.8 crore in December 2020 and released first instalment of ₹15 crore.
he Tamil Nadu Government will take appropriate decision to protect the welfare and livelihood of Manjolai tea estate workers as Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation, which is managing the tea gardens for the past 90-odd years, is about to wind up its operations in near future, Speaker M. Appavu has said.