Liquor not a fundamental right, Delhi government

New Delhi: Trade or consumption of liquor is not a fundamental right and the state has the authority to regulate its sale, the AAP government has told the Delhi High Court maintaining its levying 70% ‘special corona fees’ on MRP of all alcohol brands is a price for grant of such privilege to the public.

The Delhi government opposed a batch of petitions challenging its May 4 notification levying the ‘special corona fees’ on liquor, and said there was an element of privilege viz-a-viz sale/ dealing in liquor and the state is free to regulate it under the excise law.

“Accordingly the state is also free to impose and recover a price for grant of such privilege. Such imposition need not be either a tax or a fee yet less excise duty, or for that matter form part of Excise revenue. The present impugned levy (special corona fee) is nothing but a combination of price of such privilege and cost of such regulation and supervision,” the Delhi government's Department of Excise said in an affidavit filed in response to the petitions.

The pleas are listed for hearing in the court on Friday. “A citizen, therefore, has no fundamental right to do trade or business in liquor or for that matter also to consume liquor. On the other hand, the State has the authority and jurisdiction to regulate (including prohibit totally or partially) such trade and commerce as well as to regulate the sale, purchase and consumption of liquor,” the Delhi government said.

HC: NIA acted in haste in taking Navlakha from Delhi to Mumbai

New Delhi: The Delhi HC urt has pulled up the probe agency, NIA, for acting in “unseemly haste” in taking away civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, accused in Bhima Koregaon violence case, from the national capital to Mumbai even when his interim bail plea was pending in Delhi.

Justice Anup J Bhambhani, who conducted the hearing through video conferencing, said there was an evident haste shown by the NIA in moving pleas across Mumbai and Delhi over weekends and Gazetted holidays (Eid) and obtaining orders by email, and “whisking away” Na­v­lakha to Mumbai, rendering the proceedings infructuous.

While the order was passed on Wednesday, it was made available on court’s website on Thursday.

Navlakha, who had surrendered before the NIA (National Investigation Agency) on April 14 in pursuance to the SC’s direction and was lodged in Tihar jail, was taken to Mumbai by train on May 26.

“While ordinarily this court would not see too much cause for hurry in this case, in view of the inexplicable, frantic hurry shown by the NIA in moving the applicant from Delhi to Mumbai while this matter was pending and NIA had itself sought time to file status report, this court does get a sense that all proceedings in this jurisdiction would be rendered utterly infructuous if an element of of urgency is not brought to bear on the present proceedings,” the HC said.

J&K HC dismisses plea on PSA detention of advocate Mian Qayoom

Srinagar: A double bench of the J&K High Court on Thursday dismissed the petition filed by Kashmir High Court Bar Association president, Mian Abdul Qayoom in which he had challenged his detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA). Mian Qayoom was detained under the PSA on August 5 last year following the abrogation of Article 370, and he was shifted to a jail in Agra. He was later brought to the Tihar Jail in Delhi. 3 prominent advo­cates, Zafar Ahmad Shah, Mian Tufail Ahmad and Nazir Ahmad Ronga appeared for Mian Qayoom. The lawyers for the petitioner stated the grounds for the PSA detention were vague and the order had been signed by the District Magis­trate with­out application of mind. They argued the peti­ti­o­ner’s health had deteriorated during detention.