High court allows liquor shop draws in Telangana

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Saturday, October 25, allowed the excise department to go ahead with the liquor shop allocations through the draw (lottery) process.

The department will conduct the draws in all districts on October 27 at 11:00 am, through the district collectors, stated a press release.

A total of 95,137 applications were received for 2620 liquor shops in Telangana. This includes 771 applications for 40 liquor shops in Adilabad, 680 for 32 shops in Komuram Bheem Asifabad, 1,712 for 73 shops in Mancherial, 3,002 for 47 shops in Nirmal, and 1,966 for 71 shops in Jagtial.

Additionally, 2730 applications were received for 94 shops in Karimnagar, 1,507 for 77 shops in Peddapalli, 1,381 for 48 shops in Rajanna Sircilla, 4,430 for 122 shops in Khammam, 3,922 for 88 shops in Kothagudem, 774 for 36 shops in Jogulamba Gadwal and 2,487 for 90 shops in Mahabubnagar.

Draws will be conducted among 1,518 applications for 67 shops in Nagarkurnool, 7,57 for 37 shops in Wanaparthy, 1,920 for 49 shops in Medak, 4,432 for 101 shops in Sangareddy, 2,782 for 93 shops in Siddipet, 4,906 for 155 shops in Nalgonda, 2,771 for 99 shops in Suryapet, 2,776 for 82 shops in Yadadri Bhuvanagri, 1,502 for 49 shops in Kamareddy, 2,786 for 102 shops in Nizamabad and 5,168 for 88 shops in Malkajgiri.

Lastly, 6063 applications were received for 114 shops in Medchal, 7,845 for 134 shops in Saroornagar, 8,536 for 100 shops in Shamshabad, 1,808 for 59 shops in Vikarabad, 1697 for 47 in Janagama,1,863 for 60 shops in Bhupalpally, 1,800 for 59 shops in Mahabubabad, 1,958 for 63 shops in Warangal Rural, and 3,175 for 65 shops in Warangal Urban.

On Friday, petitioners approached the High Court questioning the legality of extending the deadline for applications. Senior advocate Avinash Desai, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the regulations did not permit such extensions, citing similar precedents where the Andhra Pradesh High Court had struck down a comparable decision.

In response, Additional Advocate General Mohammad Imran Khan, representing the state, explained that the extension became necessary due to a statewide political bandh and technical issues on October 18. He further stated that the government had the authority to modify procedures in the selection process.

The court had adjourned the matter for Saturday, asking the state to produce explanations and relevant Supreme Court judgments.