High Court stays Nagpur collector's order shutting liquor shops from October 21 to 23

The question of whether liquor shops in Nagpur will stay shut or open during the Legislative Council graduates' constituency election has now been settled. The Bombay High Court has put an interim stay on the collector's dry day order. This means liquor shops in Nagpur will remain open between October 21 and 23.

Polling for the Legislative Council graduates' constituency is to be held on October 23 in several seats across Maharashtra, including Nagpur. Nagpur Collector Kumar Ashirwad issued an order on October 16 directing that liquor shops across the district be kept completely shut.

Under the order, the shops were to remain closed from 4 pm on October 21 to 4 pm on October 23. Strict instructions were also issued that all shops in the district stay closed on the counting day, October 27.

A petition challenging the collector's order was filed in the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court. After hearing it, the High Court put an interim stay on the order.

The petition described the district-wide liquor ban as arbitrary and unequal. The petitioners argued that the statutory conditions laid down under Section 142(1) of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, were not properly followed when the order was issued.

The petition also cited earlier court orders relating to elections and sought a modification of the restrictive order. The High Court granted interim relief while considering the petition.

The relief is not limited to Nagpur district. It has also been granted for Chandrapur and Bhandara districts, so liquor shops will remain open in all three districts.

Advocates Sumit Bodhalkar and Parth Malviya appeared for the petitioners. Following the High Court order, the answer to the doubt over whether shops would stay open or closed is that they will remain open in Nagpur between October 21 and 23, during the election.