Case Note & Summary
The High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru, by this common order, addressed a batch of writ appeals filed under Section 4 of the Karnataka High Court Act, 1961, against the orders of the learned Single Judge dated 22.07.2016 and 20.09.2016 in W.P. Nos. 19788/2015 and 45068/2016. The Single Judge had quashed a notification dated 09.06.2014 issued by the State Government, which amended the Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968, by inserting Clause 7-D in Rule 3 and amending Rule 8. The amendment provided for a separate category of Hotel and Boarding House Licenses exclusively for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, with specified annual fees based on the location of the establishment. The notification was challenged in writ petitions, and the Single Judge, for reasons recorded in the order, set it aside. Aggrieved by the quashing, the State of Karnataka, the Commissioner of Excise, and certain individuals who were prospective licensees or affected parties filed the present writ appeals. The appeals were heard together as they arose from the very same order. The court noted that the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, enacted to provide a uniform excise law, prohibits dealing with excisable articles without a licence under Section 15. Chapter VI deals with licences and permits, and Section 71 empowers the State Government to make rules, including regulating periods, localities, and classes of persons to whom licences may be granted. In exercise of this power, the State Government framed the 1968 Rules. The impugned notification sought to insert the new licence category for SC/ST persons. The Single Judge found the notification to be unsustainable. During the hearing of the appeals, the Division Bench considered the contentions but the extracted text does not include the full reasoning or the final operative directions. The court reserved the appeals on 09.12.2016 and pronounced the order on 20.01.2017. The extract of the order ends abruptly; the final decision is not available in the provided text.
Headnote
A) Constitutional Law - Affirmative Action - Reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in Liquor Trade - Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, Sections 15, 71; Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968, Rules 3, 8 - Single Judge quashed the notification dated 09.06.2014 which inserted Clause 7-D in Rule 3 and amended Rule 8, providing exclusive hotel and boarding house liquor licenses for SC/ST persons, holding it to be invalid; State and other parties filed writ appeals; Division Bench to decide validity of reservation and rule-making power (Paras 2-3). B) Excise Law - Licensing - Rule-making Power under Section 71 - Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, Section 71; Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968, Rule 3(7-D), Rule 8 - State Government in exercise of power under Section 71 inserted Clause 7-D and fixed annual fees for SC/ST licensees; Single Judge quashed the amendment; appeals raise question whether such reservation is permissible under the Act (Paras 5-7).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the notification dated 09.06.2014 inserting Clause 7-D in Rule 3 and amending Rule 8 of the Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968, providing for hotel and boarding house licenses exclusively for persons belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is valid and within the rule-making power under Section 71 of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and not violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
Final Decision
Not mentioned in the extracted text. The order abruptly ends.
Law Points
- Validity of reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in liquor trade
- Scope of rule-making power under Section 71 of Karnataka Excise Act
- 1965
- Equality under Article 14 of the Constitution
- Affirmative action in excise licensing
