The Madras High Court on Thursday has imposed new regulations on the sale of liquor in the state of Tamil Nadu.
According to the new regulations, one person can purchase liquor only twice in a week, with a gap of three days between the purchases and not more than two bottles of 750ml of liquor of any type will be allowed to be sold, said a Bench led by Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice Pushpa Sathyanaranana.
The Court was hearing a plea to enforce a complete ban of the sales of liquor in Tamil Nadu amid Lockdown 3.0 enforced due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. However, the Court rejected the plea and imposed new regulations.
The High Court also directed the State Government and Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) to consider online sale of liquor.
Meanwhile, after a dry spell of 43 days, liquor sale resumed at State-run outlets in Tamil Nadu except Chennai.
Opposing the move to reopen the liquor stores, DMK president M K Stalin, clad in black, held a placard and a black flag in front of his house against restart of liqour sale.
Slogans were raised briefly by DMK workers demanding the government to close down the outlets.
Stalin had claimed that opening of liquor shops would lead to further increase in the spread of coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the total COVID-19 positive patients in Tamil Nadu is nearing the 5000 mark. The death count in the state stands at 35.
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