Noticing the rapid growth in the number of accidents on National & State Highways, the apex court passed a law to remove the liquor shops on all highways.

The Supreme Court further stated that the existing licenses of the alcohol distribution shops will lapse on April 1, 2017.

SC made it clear that the licenses of existing shops will not be renewed after 31 March next year. This landmark decision is taken by Chief Justice T S Thakur alongside Justices D Y Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao.

Soon after the announcement, the major stocks like United Spirits and United Breweries saw some selling pressure. Global Spirits also fell off the cliff after performing well in early morning trade.

According to the recent statistics, there are about 1.5 lakh fatalities per year in India. SC believes that one of the reasons for the accidents could be that liquor is so easily available on highways.

Earlier, many NGOs had already petitioned for this ban as a road safety measure. As a judgment, there can be no shops within the 500-meter radius of the highways and the judgment is limited to alcohol stores.