34 Cyber Hub pubs and bars to down shutters by midnight
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34 Cyber Hub pubs and bars to down shutters by midnight

The Supreme Court upheld its verdict of the December 15 order, which said the sale of liquor would not be allowed within 500 m of national and state highways.

34 Cyber Hub pubs and bars to down shutters by midnight

At midnight today, 34 pubs and bars of Gurgaon’s popular Cyber Hub will have to down their shutters, after the Supreme Court upheld its verdict of the December 15 order, banning sale of liquor within 500 m of national and state highways.

On December 15, the Supreme Court had directed states and union territories to stop the sale of liquor within 500 m of national and state highways, as well as on service lanes along highways. The verdict was given keeping in mind road accidents because of drunken driving.

Today, a bench comprising Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Justice L Nageswara Rao, however, relaxed the ban to 220 m for towns along a highway with a population less than 20,000.

The Haryana excise department had earlier identified 109 pubs and 43 liquor vendors in Gurgaon within 500 m of highways.

As per the Supreme Court judgment, the liquor vendors will have to shut shop from April 1. After this date, even bars in five-star hotels and resorts along the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway will not be permitted to serve liquor. 

“Restaurants are being targeted unjustifiably," said Arvind Kumar, general manager, The Wine Company, a pub in Cyber Hub. "A restaurant is the safest place for an individual to drink in, and at least more than 3.5 lakh employees face the risk of losing their jobs.”

“We have calculated the motorable distance and found that Star Mall in Sector 30 is 900 m away from the main highway, so we are safe," said RN Rathi, Ninkasi, a new brewery in the sector. "My team and I used Google Maps to calculate the distance."

"The Supreme Court maintained their original order of Decemeber 15, 2016, which banned liquor vendors situated less than 500 m from national and state highways," said Rahul Singh, Haryana Chapter Head (National Restaurant Association of India). "We are now working with state departments to identify new entities that fall under this purview. There will be busy days ahead for sure."