Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday, October 13, ruled that it cannot grant interim orders against the state’s liquor policy, stating that it is a policy decision of the government and outside the court’s scope to intervene.
The court observed that if a non-refundable application fee was fixed for liquor shop licenses, applicants were free to refrain from applying.
The case pertains to a petition filed by Gaddam Anil Kumar from Secunderabad challenging the government’s August 14 notification that introduced the liquor policy for 2025–27. Justice NV Shravan Kumar heard the matter on Monday.
Petitioner argues against non refundable application fee
Counsel for the petitioner argued that the government had set the application fee at Rs 3 lakh in a non-refundable manner and instead should have fixed a nominal fee and earnest money deposits.
He further sought provisions for retail excise tax, special retail excise tax, shop turnover tax for toddy tappers, and reservation benefits for SCs and STs.
The petitioner, who held a liquor license in 2021, alleged that he suffered financial losses after failing to secure licenses in the 2023–25 auction, which led to the forfeiture of his deposited money.
He requested that the court issue an interim order to continue the licensing process without finalising shop allotments until the case was decided.
Judge declines interim relief
After hearing the arguments, the judge declined interim relief and issued notices to the Excise Department and the Commissioner, adjourning the matter to November 3.
In the meantime, liquor license applications will be accepted until October 18.
