A senior state government official, heading an inquiry to find out who had illegally granted licences to open liquor shops in the city, today informed Gauhati High Court that since 2005, as many as 13 bar licences were converted into liquor shops, violating the norms in the Assam Excise Rule, 1945.
The inquiry report was submitted before the court of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan by Shantanu Thakur, commissioner and secretary (agriculture department). He was the commissioner of the excise department when the administrative inquiry was ordered by the court in August last year.
The inquiry report was submitted before the court of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan by Shantanu Thakur, commissioner and secretary (agriculture department). He was the commissioner of the excise department when the administrative inquiry was ordered by the court in August last year.
“The excise department, through a letter on November 29, 2001, had decided not to issue any new liquor licence. From the records available, it has been seen that as many as 13 liquor shops were allowed to be set up by ‘converting’ some existing bars to wine shops and that is where the rub lies. The Assam Excise Rule, 1945, has no provision for conversion of a bar licence to liquor shop licence. However, if a bar licence holder, for reasons of business viability, desires to opt for a liquor shop licence, he or she, in normal course, should be asked to surrender the bar licence and apply afresh for the liquor shop,” the report said.
“In view of the decision taken by the government not to go for new retail liquor licences, the 13 licences should have been kept in abeyance till the government reviewed its decision. In the process, almost all the inspector-level officials had pointed out, in proper format, the relevant aspects, including the distance restrictions. However, the deputy commissioner of Kamrup (metro) had simply forwarded these licence cases to the government through the commissioner of excise without any specific views on whether the cases deserved to be granted licence or not,” it said.
The report was submitted in the court during hearing of the writ petition filed by Arun Pathak, owner of Midtown Bar at Christianbasti, who had moved the court against a closure order by Kamrup (metro) district administration.
The court, during hearing of the petition in August had asked the administration to close down liquor shops and bar situated within a 500-metre radius of religious and educational institutions, hospitals and court. The court, however, modified its interim order and allowed reopening of the bars and liquor shops, which were granted licences before March 18, 2005.
Pathak’s counsel, Bhaskar Dev Konwar, today said the court fixed February 13 as the date of the next hearing.
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