Supreme Court Allows Liquor Vends in Chandigarh Despite Court Order

Liquor vends across Chandigarh opened on Thursday in light of the Supreme Court quashing the order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court had ordered status quo on allotment of vends after petitions challenged the tendering process. Vends allotted under the previous excise policy were not to operate beyond March 31, while those under the 2025-26 policy were not to be opened till April 3. Under the new policy, 96 of the total 97 units have been auctioned. The case is now to be decided on merit by the High Court, where the petitions were listed for hearing before the bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Alok Jain on Thursday. However, one of the judges recused from hearing the case, and the matter will now be taken up by a different bench on Friday. Some contractors alleged in a plea before the High Court that a single family and their associates had secured 87 out of the 96 vends auctioned. In the auction held on March 21, the UT was able to auction 96 out of 97 liquor vends for the year 2025-26, raking in ₹606 crore in revenue—36% above the ₹439 crore reserve price.