Pune’s revised dry day order will restrict liquor sales only during voting hours on October 23, after the Bombay High Court directed authorities to limit an earlier shutdown schedule issued for the Maharashtra Legislative Council elections. A separate restriction will apply in Pune Municipal Corporation’s Balewadi Ward 9 during vote counting on October 27.
Under the revised order, liquor sales in the jurisdiction of the Superintendent of State Excise, Pune-1, will remain prohibited from midnight on October 23 until 4 pm on the same day. The restriction applies to the voting period for the Legislative Council elections in the graduate and teacher constituencies.
The change follows writ petitions filed before the Bombay High Court challenging the earlier dry day order. The court issued its directions on October 21, according to the report, and instructed the administration to implement the revised order immediately. The earlier order had provided for a wider closure schedule, but the court limited the voting-day restriction to the period ending at 4 pm.
The election involves five Legislative Council seats—three graduate constituencies and two teacher constituencies—whose existing members’ terms are ending. The administration had ordered liquor sales to be stopped to support peaceful and fair polling and to prevent law-and-order problems during the election process.
The restrictions cover country liquor and foreign liquor shops, beer and wine outlets, bars, liquor counters in star hotels, clubs and other licensed establishments selling alcohol. Operators in the affected jurisdiction have been instructed to keep their establishments closed during the specified period.
A separate closure will be enforced on October 27 in Balewadi Ward 9, where vote counting for the Pune Municipal Corporation area will take place. Liquor sales will remain prohibited there until the counting process is completed and the result is declared.
The revised order does not provide compensation to liquor businesses for the period during which they are required to remain closed. The administration has also warned that licence holders violating the order will face action under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, and the rules made under it.
For residents, the change means that the wider closure schedule reported earlier has been narrowed for polling day, while businesses in the specified areas must still comply with two separate election-related restrictions. The immediate administrative task is to ensure that licensed outlets receive and follow the revised timings, particularly before the midnight start of the October 23 closure.
