On Thursday, the Govt of Delhi defended before Delhi High Court its decision to stop rebates offered by liquor retailers, saying it couldn’t promote drunkenness through discounts.
Justice V Kameswar Rao was hearing a batch of pleas by several liquor licence holders challenging the order & seeking a stay on the Feb 28 order.
“Delhi can’t be the city for promoting drunkenness through discounts… This was being misused over & over & over again by attracting & luring people by an absolutely unreasonable & strange discounting policy,” argued senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi on behalf of the Govt.
“It was also used as a measure of monopolising. We were not against discounts generally, but we found that in the past few months, by giving huge discounts, there was an attempt by a few with deep pockets to monopolise…,” Singhvi contended, seeking time to file a Govt response. Liquor can’t be sold below the minimum retail price, the Govt argued.
Justice Rao issued notice on the petitions & asked the government
to file its response. The case will be heard again on Monday.
The petitioners have sought a stay on the ground that the decision was
causing them an irreparable loss as the sales “have gone down by 75%”.
Senior Lawyers Mukul Rohatgi & Sajan Poovayya, who represented
several retailers, argued that the order was passed by the authority
concerned without any jurisdiction & was arbitrary.
Rohatgi said that “Revenue was (being) earned for the state. Suddenly one day without any warning, an order is issued without any jurisdiction, saying that there are crowds so discounts must stop; saying it is unhealthy market practices... Business has gone back to Uttar Pradesh & Haryana".
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