HC asks govt not to renew licence of liquor shop near Kanpur school after LKG student moves court
Prayagraj, May 9: The Allahabad High Court has directed the state government to refrain from renewing the licence of a liquor shop located near a school in Kanpur after a five-year-old student of the school approached the court, seeking directions to relocate the store.
In his PIL, Atharva Dixit said as the liquor shop remains open throughout the day and is a meeting point of "anti-social elements", it is creating disturbance to the students of the school.
The petitioner also sought directions to the state authorities to refrain from granting the country-made liquor shop in Azad Nagar in Kanpur a fresh or renewed licence for 2024-25, as, according to him, the distance between the liquor shop and his school is only 30 metres.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Vikas Budhwar restrained the state excise authorities from granting/renewing the licence of the shop in question after expiry of the present licence on March 31, 2025, i.e. for the financial year 2025-26 onwards.
In response to the PIL, the state government relied on the provisions of Rule 5(4)(a) of the Uttar Pradesh Number and Location of Excise Shop Rules, 1968. The proviso to this rule stipulates a distance of 50 metres between a liquor shop and any place of worship, school, hospital, or residential colony.
Further, if any such place comes into existence after the establishment of the shop, the provisions of this rule do not apply. Since the shop in question has been operational for over 30 years and the school was established in 2019, it was submitted that there is no violation of the rules.
However, the petitioner's counsel argued that if a school is established after the liquor shop, it should not result in the closure of the shop during the current financial year. However, once the licence in question expires, no fresh licence or renewal should be granted. Therefore, rejecting the petitioner's representation on these grounds is factually incorrect, the petitioner added.
The court in its decision dated May 2 said, "The mere fact that the shop has been used as a liquor shop in a financial year prior to the school came into existence, is not sufficient for invoking the proviso for the purpose of granting licence year after year in as much as the licence is issued to the licensee on his fulfilling the eligibility under Rule 8 of the Rules of 2002 and not to the shop in question."
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
