Rajasthan HC directs removal of liquor shops from highways

The Rajasthan High Court has ordered the immediate removal of all 1,102 liquor shops located within 500 metres of national and state highways across the state, irrespective of whether they fall in municipal limits or under local bodies.

A division bench of Justice P.S. Bhati and Justice Sanjeet Purohit gave the state government two months to relocate these outlets to conforming locations beyond the 500-metre buffer zone. The court further directed that even after relocation, no hoardings, signboards or advertisements promoting liquor should be visible from any national or state highway.

The bench fixed the next hearing for January 26, 2026, and asked the excise commissioner to file a detailed compliance affidavit before that date.