Shivangi Prakash-
Published On: September 30, 2021 at 17:06 IST
The Orissa High Court dismissed a series of petitions contesting the State Government’s policy decision to transition to a Lottery System for giving exclusive privileges of retail sale of Liquor through IMFL off outlets in exchange for a fixed Licence Price.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice S Muralidhar and Justice BP Routray concluded that an Auction is not the only way to determine the value of relinquishing the exclusive right to sell Liquor.
“There cannot be, in the very nature of things, one right fix in matters of this kind. In other words, it is not possible to accept the contention of the Petitioners that Auction is the only and the best method for parting with the exclusive privilege for sale of Liquor,” the Bench ruled.
The Court cannot concur with the petitioners’ allegation that the State’s policy of switching to Lottery as a method of determining fees for relinquishing the exclusive privilege of trading in IMFL through off outlets is Unreasonable and Arbitrary, the Bench wrote in a 53-page decision.
Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Telangana are among the States that have adopted the Lottery Technique for settling IMFL stores.
Since 2005, the Auction mode has been deactivated.
The State Government had been renewing the Licence, which was previously determined by a lottery every year, by setting a percentage increase.
On February 26, 2021, the State Excise Department announced the criteria and instructions for holding a Lottery to award exclusive privileges in the liquor trade through IMFL off shops.
As a result, the Collectors published a sale notice on March 14, 2021, asking applications for the settlement of IMFL off stores in various locations. The Petitioners argued against this.
The Bench ruled that while empirical facts supplied by the State Government did not contradict the policy transition to a lottery mode, it did reveal that the previous auction mechanism had caused problems.
“This appears to support the contention of the Government that the fixed licence fee is a better suited method”, the Bench also noted.
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