Overview
- The High Court refused to stay the government’s extension of the liquor shop application deadline and reserved the writ for orders, asking the state to file a short synopsis by Monday and cautioning that any steps taken will be subject to the final decision.
- The government moved the last date from October 18 to October 23 citing an OBC bandh, while petitioners led by D Venkateshwara Rao argue the change violated the selection framework and reduced applicants’ odds, invoking an Andhra Pradesh High Court precedent.
- Excise officials report roughly 95,000 applications for 2,620 A4 shops and non‑refundable fee collections of about Rs 2.84–2.9k crore after the fee rose to Rs 3 lakh per application, even as volumes fell by about 37,000 compared with the previous term.
- State counsel told the court that around 5,793 applications arrived during the extended window and argued under Rule 12 that selection encompasses the receipt of applications, a claim the bench scrutinized in testing the legality of the change.
- District data show weaker interest despite the extension, including a 23% drop in erstwhile Adilabad and declines in Karimnagar and Khammam, with reporting attributing the trend to higher fees, timing, profitability concerns and alleged trader syndicates.