TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2015 (5) TMI 438
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....to be treated as a Public Interest Litigation upon it being found that the petitioner therein does not claim any personal interest in the matter except to the extent that he is also a resident of the locality in which the liquor vend had been opened, has been filed impugning the grant of L-7 licence for retail sale of liquor from Shops No.43 and 45, CSC (Sunder Plaza Market), Pocket GH-10, Zone G-17, Paschim Vihar, Delhi. 3. WP(C) No. 8053/2012 from which LPA No. 166/2015 arises, was filed by the Residents Welfare Association of the colony impugning the grant of licence for vending liquor from a shop in CSC, C Block Market, East of Kailash, New Delhi and which led to the judgment dated 18th December, 2014 of dismissal of that writ petition. 4. It is the case of the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.4909/2013, (i) that the liquor vend is very close to the other shops such as mother diary, general stores etc where the small kids and women of the neighbouring area visit regularly for buying the household goods; (ii) that as per the policy of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and direction issued to the Excise Department, it is impermissible to open liquor vend for selling hard liquor in ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e writ petition with respect to the CSC of Sarita Vihar. 8. Same was the stand of the DDA in the counter affidavit in the writ petition from which LPA No. 166/2015 arises. 9. The respondent No.1 Department of Excise, GNCTD in its counter affidavit in WP(C) No. 4909/2013 has stated, (i) that the licence for the liquor vend at Sunder Plaza Market, Pachim Vihar was issued in accordance with the rules and regulations and after spot inspection and satisfying that the same is not within the prohibited distance from any major educational institution or religious place and hospital with 50 beds and above; (ii) that the Excise Department, GNCTD, before issuing the licence for the said liquor vend, had also satisfied itself that the land use of the shops with respect to which the liquor vend was being issued prescribed in the documents of conveyance thereof was "commercial"; (iii) that as per Rule 51(9) of the Delhi Excise Rules,2010 liquor retail licence for consumption "off" the premises is permitted at sites or premises located at a pucca building, the land use of which is commercially approved; ( iv) that as per the MPD - 2021 CSCs are included in the list of places where commercial ac....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s motivated as the petitioner is a close relative of one Sh. Sanjeev Mittal who himself had earlier applied for a license for vending liquor from the subject premises but which request was rejected and the said Sh. Sanjeev Mittal has thereafter opened his liquor vend at a distance of about 250 meters from the subject liquor vend and the purport of the petition is to have the subject liquor vend closed, to increase the sales of the liquor vend of the said Sh. Sanjeev Mittal; (b) denying that the existence of the liquor vend causes any nuisance to anyone; (c) that liquor license can be granted at a place which is commercial by nature; (d) that there is no statutory prohibition / restriction to the liquor vend in the subject premises; (e) that the amalgamation of the shop was in consonance with the policy and was not violative of the building bye-laws; and, (f) that nobody has filed any complaint of any nuisance, for the last nearly three years since when the subject liquor vend has been operating. 12. The licensee of liquor vend subject matter of LPA No.166/2015 in its counter affidavit has stated: (I) that the concerned CSC at East of Kailash had been de-notified and DDA has no au....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....chnical Committee of the DDA was also misplaced; the Technical Committee in the meeting held on 16th June, 2010 had decided to permit liquor vends in local shopping centres; counter arguments were raised whether the same implied rejection of the proposal to allow liquor vends in CSCs; however the same was irrelevant in as much as the decision of the Technical Committee did not translate in a review or amendment of the MPD-2021; in fact the said decision of the Technical Committee was not even approved by the Management Action Group or the Advisory Group of the DDA; the minutes of the meeting of the Advisory Group held on 23rd August, 2013 under the Chairmanship of the Lt. Governor, Delhi indicated that the proposal to prohibit sale of liquor in a CSC was not accepted; (d) although MPD-2021 does not expressly indicate that liquor vends can be operated in a CSC, there is no specific mention that such activity is prohibited; (e) otherwise it is not disputed that retail activity is permissible in CSCs and there is no specific reason why retail of liquor should be excluded; (f) that even the Excise Act and the Rules framed thereunder do not prohibit a liquor vend in a CSC; and, (g) ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... any distinction between CSCs and LSCs with the same maximum coverage, FAR, height and parking standards being prescribed for both. 21. Table 5.5 thereunder, defining the activities permitted in use premises, defines retail shop as a premise for sale of commodities directly to the consumer with necessary storage and the activities permitted therein as of, retail shop, repair shop, personnel service shop. In the said table, Convenience Shopping Centre is defined as a group of shops in residential area serving a population of about 5000 persons and a Local Shopping Centre as a group of shops in a residential area serving a population of about 10000 persons with the activities permitted in both, as per Table 5.1 supra. 22. We have not found reference elsewhere in the Master Plan to the LSCs and CSCs. 23. The aforesaid would show that the only difference between a LSC and a CSC vis-à-vis the activities permitted therein is, that in CSC there cannot be a commercial office of a size more than 125 sqm. and a clinical laboratory and clinic and poly clinic, guest home, coaching centre/training institutes which are permitted in a LSC. Else, the activities of retail shopping, repair....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ncur with the reasoning given by the learned Single Judge with respect thereto. 29. We, from the nomenclature understand, a CSC as a small shopping centre in the midst of the houses within the colony or a block thereof with shops therein selling items of daily need of households of perishable items and which shops ordinarily an outsider from the colony would not visit and a LSC as situated outside the residential colony, to cater to the needs of the households of consumables which may be required say once a month and also having offices, service centres like travel agents, car rentals, clinics, laboratories, banks, restaurants etc. and which will be frequented by residents of several surrounding localities and may be by others as well. In such case it could have been said that as per our culture, there ought not to be a liquor vend in a CSC. However we do not find the MPD-2021, though having the nomenclature of CSC and LSC to have made any such distinction. The draftsman of the Master Plan, after drawing the five tier system of commercial areas comprising inter alia of LSC and CSC, has provided retail shopping without any restriction on the size of the retail shop or on the commod....