Aftermath of Porsche crash: 47 bars face temporary license suspension, 25 pay fines for violations of regulations | News from India

MUMBAI: In the wake of the Porsche accident in Pune in which two young students were killed by a drunken minor, around 47 bars in the Mumbai metropolitan region will remain closed for 5 to 10 days as punishment for not adhering to closing hours, offering alcohol to underage patrons and not giving them day permits to drink. This is because their licenses have been confiscated as punishment for the next few days.

It may be mentioned here that after the incident, state tax commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi has issued strict instructions to all bars and liquor shops across the state to install CCTV systems so that state tax officials can monitor their entrances and counters in real time for underage customers and closing times. “We do not have enough staff to monitor every licensee on a daily basis, hence this step,” he explained while talking to TOI.

According to senior customs officials, of the 47 suspensions in the metropolitan region, most (around 30 to 32) were found for non-compliance with the 1.30 am closing time as most of them were accepting late customers and orders, thus delaying the closure of their bars. Most of the offenders are from Thane and Mumbai suburbs. These are also 25 bars against which penal action has been taken (the penalty ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 50,000, depending on the number of violations).

Similarly, around 13 bars were found to be serving alcohol without issuing them a daily license to consume alcohol (a paltry Rs 5 to be paid on the spot), followed by 5 cases of alcohol being sold to underage customers or offered over the counter. The minimum permissible age for consuming wine or beer is 21 years, while for strong alcohol such as rum or whisky, it is 25 years. “The penalty of temporarily cancelling the licenses was imposed after the bar owners were duly heard by the Customs Department, the Tax Collector and the police,” said Customs officials.