‘Quarter Century Gone In Litigation’: Bombay HC Awards ₹2.5 Lakh To 91-Year-Old After Decades-Long Liquor Licence Dispute

Mumbai, September 19, 2026: A nearly four-decade-old dispute over a liquor licence has ended with the Bombay High Court awarding Rs 2.5 lakh in costs to a 91-year-old man, saying he had been made to go through repeated rounds of litigation despite earlier court directions.

Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan said Suryakant Khaladkar had knocked on the High Court’s doors three times, leaving the “past quarter century” of his life “mired in litigation”.

Costs For Repeated Litigation

The court said the costs were meant to acknowledge the repeated proceedings Khaladkar was forced to undertake before the Collector, Commissioner and Excise Minister to establish rights that had already been dealt with by the High Court in its earlier judgments.

The dispute dates back to 1973, when an FL-II foreign liquor licence was issued to Balkrishna Wadkar. In 1979, Wadkar entered into a partnership with Khaladkar and his father, with the Khaladkars holding a 90 per cent share and Wadkar 10 per cent.

Dispute Over Liquor Licence

After Wadkar died in 1985, his widow Shobha and Khaladkar both sought the licence. In 2002, the High Court held that the partnership and licence had come to an end and directed authorities to treat their claims as fresh applications under Rule 25 of the Foreign Liquor Rules.

The matter returned to the High Court in 2016 after the directions were not implemented. The court reiterated that the applications had to be considered afresh and not as requests to transfer the existing licence. The State did not challenge either judgment.

Despite this, the Collector transferred the licence to Shobha in 2017. The Excise Commissioner set aside the decision in 2022 and recognised the respective 90:10 interests of Khaladkar and Shobha’s side. However, the Excise Minister restored the Collector’s order in October 2023, prompting Khaladkar to approach the High Court for the third time.

Court Rejects ‘Re-Grant’ Argument

The court said the State could have rejected both applications if its policy did not permit issuance of a fresh licence. However, granting Shobha preference as the original licensee’s heir would run contrary to the earlier judgments.

“The mere labelling of the same action as a ‘re-grant’ or ‘reissue’ of licence to one party over another... is nothing but old wine in a new bottle and is completely untenable,” Justice Sundaresan observed.

The court said Khaladkar deserved costs for having to “knock the doors of this Court thrice” after repeated proceedings before excise authorities.

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State Offered Policy Solution

It also said the State could still “redeem itself” by considering a policy solution allowing a licence to be issued to both sides in the 10:90 ratio.

The court directed the State to act in accordance with its judgment and refused to stay implementation of its order.

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