Remove all 1,102 liquor outlets located within 500 m of national, state highways: HC directs Rajasthan govt

Jodhpur, Nov 26 The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday ordered that all liquor outlets located within 500 m of the national or state highways must be cleared from their present locations, regardless of the local authority that has jurisdiction over them, in view of increasing road tragedies.

A Jodhpur division bench of justices P S Bhati and Sanjeet Purohit also made it clear that highways must be free from any visual cues promoting alcohol. This means that signboards, banners, or advertisements indicating the presence of liquor shops cannot be positioned in a manner visible to highway users.

The bench asked the state government to shift the 1,102 identified liquor shops to legally permissible sites situated beyond the restricted radius within a two-month window.

Petitioners Kanhaiya Lal Soni and Manoj Nai argued that the liquor shops situated along the highway stretches - especially those already known for high accident rates - demand strict regulatory control.

Their petition emphasized that easy access to alcohol near highways has long been a matter of judicial concern and requires urgent corrective action.

Before the matter is taken up again on January 26, 2026, the excise commissioner has been directed to submit a detailed compliance report to the court.

In its observations, the bench recalled two recent road crashes - one near Harmada in Jaipur and another at Phalodi - which resulted in 28 deaths.

The court said these tragedies illustrate how the combination of alcohol misuse and negligent driving is endangering the public and infringing upon the right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

It added that inadequate enforcement and gaps in regulatory oversight only worsen the situation.