Pune’s polling-day dry day for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections will now end at 4 pm on October 23, after the Bombay High Court directed authorities to shorten the liquor-sale restriction imposed across the affected jurisdiction.
The revised order, issued after petitions challenged the earlier notification, requires liquor outlets within the jurisdiction of the Superintendent of State Excise, Pune-1, to remain closed from midnight until 4 pm on polling day. The Pune administration amended its earlier notification on October 21 and directed businesses to follow the revised schedule without delay.
The restrictions apply to licensed sellers of country liquor and foreign liquor, beer and wine shops, bars, liquor-serving establishments in star hotels, clubs and other authorised vendors operating in the notified area. The amended timing replaces the longer closure originally announced by the administration.
Authorities had imposed the dry day to support law and order and ensure that polling for the five Maharashtra Legislative Council seats proceeded peacefully. The election covers three graduate constituencies and two teachers’ constituencies, with the terms of the sitting members approaching their end.
The court’s intervention changes the compliance window for hundreds of licensed businesses that would otherwise have faced a longer suspension of sales. However, the amended order does not remove the requirement to keep establishments closed during the specified hours. Licence holders will also not be entitled to compensation for losses arising from the mandatory closure.
A separate liquor-sale restriction will apply on October 27 in Pune Municipal Corporation’s Balewadi Ward No. 9. Outlets in that area must remain closed until the counting process is completed and the election results are declared. The separate restriction is linked to the counting activity rather than polling-day operations.
The October 27 order covers the same broad range of licensed establishments, including liquor shops, bars, clubs, star hotels and other authorised vendors in the notified Balewadi area. Businesses must comply with both the revised polling-day schedule and the separate counting-day restriction where applicable.
Violations may attract action under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, and the applicable rules. The administration has directed liquor vendors and bar operators in the affected areas to observe the amended notification and the Balewadi restriction during counting.
