Pernod Ricard's liquor licence plea rejected by Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court rejected Pernod Ricard's plea for an L1 liquor licence, citing the company's "criminal background." The court upheld the Delhi government's decision, which was based on Pernod Ricard being an accused in the excise policy case.

The Delhi High Court on Friday rejected the plea of Liquor major Pernod Ricard against the denial of a licence to sell liquor in Delhi. The company has approached the High Court against the order passed by the Delhi Government Authorities.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected the plea of Pernod Ricard India Pvt. Ltd. The High Court said that the petitioner has a criminal background in view of the Excise Act. "Therefore, not eligible for a grant of an L1 licence," the court said. The detailed order is yet to be uploaded.

Basis for Licence Denial

The L1 licence is for the purpose of warehousing the liquor in large quantities and distributing it to retailers.

While opposing the petition, the Delhi Government counsel, Sameer Vashisht alongwith Avni Singh, opposed the petition on the grounds of section 13 of the Delhi Excise Act. It was also submitted that the scope of this section is not limited to the conviction only.

The petitioner had submitted that the decision of the authorities denying the licence was wrong. Pernod Ricard is named as an accused in money laundering case linked with Delhi Excise policy case. It had filed a petition against Delhi Excise Department, the financial Commissioner of Delhi, and Excise Commissioner of Delhi. It had challenged the order of the Financial Commissioner of Delhi of February 17, 2026 upholding the order of Delhi Excise Commissioner of May 9, 2025 rejecting the petitioner's application on the ground of pending criminal processing by the ED.

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