Kolkata: Around 1,000 liquor shops in Bengal that had shut after being granted temporary licences for six months in Oct 2018 are likely to reopen from Dec 15, 2026, following a high court order.The shops were among around 1,800 that had received temporary licences in 2018. Their operations were suspended by the state govt on March 3, 2019, ahead of the general election. Some of the licence holders moved court challenging the decision. Around 600 are learnt to have opted out during the prolonged legal battle.Of the 1,000-odd shops likely to reopen, around 400 are in and around Kolkata, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Howrah.The division bench, in its judgment, said: “Therefore, we find merit in the submissions of the learned counsel of the appellants and, in view of the peculiarity of these circumstances, we direct the respondent to allow the appellants to run their businesses for the balance period as stipulated in their temporary licences so that they can clear out the stock piled up in their respective shop rooms. The appellants shall be allowed to run their shops on and from Dec 15, 2026, till the completion of the balance portion of their six-month term.”The court also noted that the appellants had been granted liberty to file fresh applications for licence, and that the state authorities had not challenged that liberty through an appeal. It directed the authorities to dispose of such applications in accordance with law within three months from the date of application.The order comes months after the state govt changed licensing norms for new liquor shops through a circular issued on Sept 16. Under the revised rules, new liquor licences will not be granted within a one-kilometre radius of religious institutions, schools and colleges. In KMC areas and other municipal areas, the restriction will be 500 metres. Earlier, the required distance was 1,000 feet, or a little over 300 metres.The circular also says liquor shops that are closed because of litigation, surrender of licence or any other reason may be allowed to reopen, subject to conditions.Bengal has nearly 8,000 liquor shops, including on-shops and off-shops. The state earned Rs 22,223 crore from liquor in the last fiscal, while the budget estimate for 2025-26 is Rs 24,922 crore.
