The Hindu : Orders on IMFL, sand quarrying cases on Monday

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 28, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Orders on IMFL, sand quarrying cases on Monday

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI DEC. 27. The Madras High Court will deliver on Monday its judgment on two important matters - one pertaining to the ban on sand quarrying and the other relating to the vexed Indian-Made Foreign Liquor vending issue.

According to the cause list, released by the court Registry today, the First Bench comprising the Chief Justice, B. Subhashan Reddy, and Justice K. Gnanaprakasam, will pronounce the orders.

The Bench on December 4 reserved orders on a batch of petitions challenging the government move to take over the entire sand quarrying operations after terminating existing leases.

Earlier, on October 8, shortly after a single judge stayed the operation of the October 1 Government Order, the Bench admitted an appeal and restrained both government agencies and leaseholders from mining at all 160 leased sites. The court, however, permitted the Government to carry out mining at the 79 quarries owned by it.

As for the huge batch of writ petitions challenging the government move to take over the entire IMFL vending operation, the court on November 28 permitted the Government to run 7,621 of the total 8,500 retail outlets with immediate effect. Though the order permitted 879 licensees to vend liquor in retail, the Supreme Court, passing orders on a State Government appeal, restrained them from vending until the High Court passed the final orders.

The apex court, however, has stipulated that retail vending be done only by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation and not through societies as originally proposed by the State Government.

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