#liquor licensing

The Bombay High Court has ruled that when a partnership is 'at will', the original liquor license holder may remove a partner from the license by serving notice under Section 43 of the Partnership Act, without needing to first resolve the dispute in civil court. This clarifies that excise authorities must recognize such dissolution for license purposes, empowering licensees to restructure partnerships administratively - a critical precedent for family-run liquor businesses in Maharashtra.

The Rajasthan High Court ruled that tying liquor license renewal to third-party participation violates Article 14, as it imposes arbitrary and non-transparent conditions. The judgment reinforces that state discretion in licensing must align with constitutional safeguards, directly impacting excise policy stakeholders.

Bombay High Court holds that once a liquor licence shift is approved, authorities cannot revisit it years later solely on reassessed distance-review power requires explicit statutory basis.