A company offering mobile wallet services has approached the Supreme Court against revoking of licence for indulging in sale of liquor in absence of any provision for it under the Karnataka Excise Act. Chennai-based Hip Bar Pvt Ltd claimed the liquor mafia was behind the move and it was merely acting as a facilitator between the merchant (licensee) and the consumer (purchaser) through the digital wallet.
The company led by senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul asked a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari to allow its plea for suspending the withdrawal of letter of authority till its matter was decided by a division bench of the High Court.
“Our business has come to standstill. Our business is not like that of Amazon (other online major). If there is no interim relief, we would suffer immense loss,” he contended, adding the division bench had declined to stay the single judge's order of September 2019, saying the matter required detailed consideration.
The top court, however, put the matter for consideration on Tuesday, March 3 to enable the petitioner-company furnish its application filed in the High Court for the interim relief. The court also sought a response from the state government in the matter.
Hip Bar had contended before the HC that the licence issued by the state government under the Food and Safety Standards Act provided for carrying on with the business of distributor, supplier and transporter with regard to ready-to-eat savouries and beverages, excluding dairy products.
A letter of authority was issued on August 01, 2017 by the commissioner, Excise Department, for online order processing and delivery of Indian and foreign liquor including beer, wine and LAB (Low Alcoholic Beverages) to Hip Bar with certain conditions.
The company claimed the letter was withdrawn abruptly without providing an opportunity to show cause after a Kannada News channel carried a report against the company.
Hip Bar said that it was subsequently compelled by the Excise Department to give an affidavit on November 15, 2018 that it has disabled the online delivery of liquor, without prejudice to its rights.
However, it approached the High Court seeking a declaration that it would not require any licence or permission for online sale of liquor, which was dismissed. It approached the division bench, which put the matter for detailed hearing without granting any interim relief.
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