The Madras High Court Bench has, on Friday, issued a fresh order in which it has directed the state government to close the TASMAC outlets across the state that were opened on May 7, nearly six weeks after remaining shutdown in the wake of the lockdown. 

The High Court has instructed the state government not to open the TASMAC liquor shops until the lockdown plays its role. However, the state's top judicial body has stated that liquor can be sold online. In its fresh directive that comes a day after the resumption of the retail liquor shops, the High court cited that the social distancing norms and restrictions have been breached by the tipplers while they queued up to buy liquor. 

According to the reports, the petition was moved to the High court on Friday during which the petitioner disclosed the video-evidence over violations of the social distancing norms following which the bench had issued a directive to shut down the outlets until the lockdown.  Earlier this week, amid the criticisms, the state government has announced that the liquor shops across the state, apart from Chennai, would resume its services from May 7.

Madras High Court orders closure of all state-run TASMAC liquor shops in Tamil Nadu, permits only online sale of liquor pic.twitter.com/K6Tn8G69dj

— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2020

The announcement had overjoyed the tipplers. However, it was feared that it would create the grounds of the rampant spread of the virus. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Madras High Court to seek the directive to revoke the government's order of re-opening the liquor shops. However, the High court had permitted the resumption with certain restrictions. 

Upon the High court order, the TASMAC shops were opened on Thursday with the high deployment of police forces. The retail outlets were closed for the past six weeks and on Thursday, the TASMAC reported that over 20 lakh liters of alcohol worth Rs 170 crores were sold as the Himalayan sales had rained expected revenue to the state government, which seemingly compromised its containment strategy.

The tipplers had queued up before the outlets by taking a break from the social distancing norms as they rushed each other to pile up the liquor and the police personnel has been deployed to ensure that the social distancing norms are followed amid Section 144 curfew. However, the long chain of people had broken the chain of social distancing following which the Madras High court had issued a fresh directive to close the TASMAC shops across the state.

The reports stated that the fresh directive would come into effect on Saturday morning and all the shops must be closed till lockdown, instead, the government can sell the liquor through online. While the order would make tipplers unhappy, it would bring major relief across the state in its fight against COVID-19.

Also read: Revenue over welfare: How much TN earned through TASMAC outlets on the first day?