Pune Revokes 10-Day Ganesh Festival Liquor Ban After High Court Rebuke
Pune withdrew its 10-day Ganesh festival liquor ban after the Bombay High Court called the restriction arbitrary and asked why only the district was targeted.
The Pune administration on Friday withdrew its order banning liquor sales for ten days during the Ganesh festival, hours after the Bombay High Court sharply questioned the restriction and asked why the district alone had been singled out.
A bench of Chief Justice MC Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna told the authorities to either revoke the prohibition or face judicial intervention. The court described the move as an arbitrary restriction that unfairly targeted Pune and its residents.
"What is the rationale behind choosing only Pune? We deprecate such practice. This is a stigma on Pune residents. What are you trying to portray that only people in Pune behave badly after drinking? One district you are choosing across the state," the bench observed.
The court was hearing petitions from hotel and wine shop owners challenging the collector's order, which barred alcohol sales for ten days starting September 14. The bench asked the lawyer appearing for the Pune collector to return later in the day with a decision on whether the order would be withdrawn, warning that it would pass an appropriate order otherwise.
While acknowledging that maintaining law and order and preventing public nuisance fell within the authorities' remit, the court held that they could not impose a blanket ten-day ban that stopped licensed establishments from carrying on their business.
Separately, Maharashtra Congress leader Sachin Sawant linked the ban to what he described as the gradual rise of "majoritarian politics" over the past twelve years. He alleged that the BJP, in power at the Centre since 2014, has used government machinery and grassroots pressure through Sangh Parivar-linked organisations and workers to foster such an atmosphere.
Sawant said that pursuing power by any means was dangerous not only for democracy but also for the country's social unity, and that a government must weigh the sentiments of all communities rather than only the majority. He framed the matter as a constitutional obligation, not merely a question of political responsibility.
He also cited a recent incident at a school in Mira Bhayandar, where students were reportedly asked not to bring lunch containing onion, garlic or root vegetables during the Jain community's Paryushan festival, as another example of the same mindset. Religious beliefs, he said, should be respected but not imposed on others.