More liquor vends or online sale? Delhi HC says decide now

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court on Tuesday asked the AAP government and the Centre to swiftly take a call on allowing liquor sale online or increasing the number of open vends.
“We are afraid that any delay... can exacerbate the problem of crowding outside liquor shops and would defeat the purpose, inasmuch as more the delay, more will be the number of persons outside liquor shops, each day, who will come in close contact with each other, increasing the probability of spread of Covid-19,” a bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal noted while disposing of a batch of petitions seeking online sale of alcohol as a temporary measure.
The high court underlined that the threat due to the crowding wasn’t “of a permanent nature, solution whereof can be devised at leisure... once the patrons of alcohol are satisfied that there would be no further closure, the crowding outside liquor shops is likely to disappear”. It asked the governments to take a decision at the earliest “so that more damage than has already been done is not caused and so that the decision taken serves the need of the hour”.
Expressing concerns about home delivery of alcohol through food delivery platforms, the bench said it would be “fraught with security and safety issues” as there was a possibility of alcohol being snatched during transit or being adulterated. “It appears that transit of alcohol from home to home would have to be in the same manner and style as transit of cash between banks and between banks and ATMs,” it pointed out, taking note of the suggestion that all authorised liquor vends could be opened to avoid pressure.
Delhi government standing counsel Ramesh Singh said the government was looking into how to implement online sale of liquor as it was not permitted under the excise law and rules. The government has instructed liquor vends to ensure social distancing by having separate queues for those with e-tokens and the rest, Singh added.
However, the court said it had learnt that the e-token system had not met with much success as the token holders were still required to spend considerable time at the shop leading to crowding. “We have inquired whether at the time of applying for e-token, the patron is able to make a choice of brand of alcohol desired to be purchased, to know the availability thereof and to make payment thereof. We are of the opinion that for e-tokens to effectively reduce the time spent at the liquor vends, these factors are essential,” it said.
The high court also doubted the government’s claims on social distancing, adding the instructions were issued “without regard to the location and position of the liquor vends”. Considering these two factors, it said, “it is not possible to maintain social distancing as has been prescribed and the instructions... will not serve any purpose and will remain on paper only”.