Bombay High Court to lift liquor ban in Mumbai post election results on June 4

On Friday, the Bombay High Court ruled that the sale, distribution, and consumption of liquor in Mumbai would be permitted after the declaration of Lok Sabha poll results on June 4. Initially, the Mumbai city collector had imposed a ban on liquor sales for the entire day.

This decision came from a vacation bench comprising Justices Nitin Borkar and Somasekhar Sundaresan, who declared that the ban imposed by the city Collector would cease upon the announcement of election results.

Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan informed the court that the Mumbai suburban district collector had already modified the previous notification, limiting the dry day restriction only until the results are declared. However, the Mumbai city collector had not made a similar modification.

Justice Somasekhar, in a lighter tone, remarked, “So suburbs can drink, beyond Bandra,” but emphasised the need for parity. The bench agreed that there should be uniformity across regions and allowed liquor sales after the election results are announced.

The ruling ensures that wine shops and bars can operate as usual once the results are officially declared, overriding the earlier order that had designated June 4 as a dry day until 5 PM. This decision came in response to petitions from the Association of Owners of Hotels and Restaurants (AHAR) against the collectors' orders.