Chennai: About 900 liquor shops have been identified, within the prohibited areas, such as from the places of worship or educational institutions. This was stated in the affidavit filed by Tasmac before a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R. Mahadevan.
Originally, A. Narayanan, a journalist filed a public interest litigation to declare as unconstitutional Rule 8 (1) of the Tamil Nadu Liquor Retail Vending (in Shops and Bars) Rules in so far as it lays down that "No shop shall be established in Municipal Corporations and Municipalities within a distance of 50 metres and in other areas 100 metres from any place of worship or educational institutions" and proviso in so far as it reads "provided that the distance restriction shall not apply in areas designated as “Commercial or Industrial" by the Development and Town Planning Authorities'.
