Pune Rolls Back 12-Day Liquor Ban For Ganeshotsav After High Court Rap

Not everyone who drinks alcohol becomes a threat to law and order, and depriving regular drinkers can land them in hospitals, the Bombay High Court remarked as it reprimanded Maharashtra's BJP-Sena-NCP over a 12-day ban on liquor in Pune district during the Ganeshotsav festival that begins Monday, September 14. And why only Pune, asked the court.

The court emphasised that such orders cannot be issued without a logical basis, and asked the state government to present its stance later in the day.

"The ones who are habitual, they will get serious medical issues [if unable to drink due to the ban]... Hospitals will be flooding," Chief Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi reportedly remarked as the matter was heard by a bench comprising him and Justice Advait Sethna.

"If during festival someone drinks, shows enthusiasm... you cannot say they will create some law-and-order scene on the streets. It is a festival; let people celebrate. I deprecate such blanket orders," the CJ said, as per LiveLaw.

The bench also noted that the ban was only for Pune: "What message are you trying to give against a particular city?"

It asked the state's lawyer to "seek appropriate instructions" from the government.

The Pune District Collector announced dry days and restrictions on liquor sales from September 14 to September 26, 2026, citing public safety and law enforcement during the Hindu festival.