Chennai: Madras high court has clarified that the govt order (GO) permitting possession of 4.5 litres of liquor for personal use does not apply to liquor procured from Puducherry and other states.Justice M Nirmal Kumar made the clarification in view of a submission made by state public prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah.The issue pertains to a plea moved by Tamilarasan and Rajesh Kumar challenging a criminal case registered against them by the Prohibition Enforcement Wing of the Chennai police for allegedly transporting 3.4 litres of liquor from Andhra Pradesh.They contended that, as per a GO passed by the Tamil Nadu govt, possession of up to 4.5 litres of liquor is permitted for personal consumption, and since the liquor they carried was for their own use, the FIR against them should be quashed.Admitting the plea, the court passed an interim stay of the criminal proceedings against them. On Wednesday, when the plea came up for hearing, the state public prosecutor clarified that the GO does not apply to liquor sourced from other states.“The 4.5-litre exemption applies only to liquor lawfully sold within Tamil Nadu. This exemption does not extend to liquor brought from other states such as Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka,” he added.Recording the submission, the court clarified that the GO applies only to liquor lawfully sold within Tamil Nadu and dismissed the petition.
