A vacation bench of the Madras High Court, headed by Justice G R Swaminathan, has dismissed a petition filed by P Saravanan and C Mathiarasan of Adyar in Chennai, who had leased out their property for running TASMAC retail outlets, against the government’s decision to close 717 outlets located near educational institutions and temples. The petitioners prayed for the court to stay the operation and quash the order regarding the closure of the liquor outlets. Dismissing the petition, the judge appreciated the government for taking such a “good decision”.
Justice G.R. Swaminathan of #MadrasHighCourt says the announcement made by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to close down 717 TASMAC retail liquor shops (situated within a distance of 500 metres from educational institutions, places of worship and bus stands) is a "good decision."…
— Mohamed Imranullah S (@imranhindu) May 20, 2026
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay has ordered the closure of 717 TASMAC liquor retail outlets located within 500 metres of educational institutions and places of worship within two weeks.
A government order dated 12th May said, “Of these 717 shops, 276 are located within 500 metres of places of worship, while 186 are near educational institutions and 255 near bus termini.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has ordered the closure of 717 government-run TASMAC liquor retail outlets located within a 500-meter radius of places of worship, educational institutions, and bus stations, within two weeks. pic.twitter.com/1eSSG18V2k
— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2026
While the public, particularly women, welcomed this move, a section of families of TASMAC employees said it would be a concern regarding where they would be relocated or laid off.
T Dhanasekaran, General Secretary of the Tamil Nadu TASMAC Employees’ Association affiliated to AITUC, told the media, “Over 3,500 staff will be affected in this process. They include supervisors, salesmen, and assistant salesmen. We would be happy if they are accommodated in government departments where vacancies exist, instead of being transferred to nearby shops.”
It is learnt that outlets were shut, with 10 each in Chennai, Madurai, Trichy, Salem, and Coimbatore.
According to media reports, Home, Prohibition and Excise Department Secretary K Manivasan said, “Work to shut the 717 outlets has already begun. We will continue daily and are identifying locations and godowns to shift the goods inside shops. This will take time. Within two weeks all shops will be closed. We are not looking at opening new outlets in other locations to offset the business loss. The focus for now is only on closure.” In Tamil Nadu, TASMAC operates 4,765 shops across the state.
BJP IT Wing functionary Karthik Gopinath, in a post on X, hailed the move, saying, “Would like to see the geographic spread as well. Do publish a report of the area-wise numbers of the shops shut. Way past high time we dealt with this menace.”
Credit where it’s due!
Good start @TVKVijayHQ .
Would like to see the geographic spread as well. Do publish a report of the area wise numbers of the shops shut . Way past high time we dealt with this menace 👌 pic.twitter.com/HraFFxY8K6— karthik gopinath (@karthikgnath) May 12, 2026
AIADMK cadres refused to give credit to the TVK govt. for shutting TASMAC outlets. They recalled their earlier decision, stating that “In May 2016, following her swearing-in for a second consecutive term, the AIADMK government led by J. Jayalalithaa ordered the closure of 500 Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) liquor shops and reduced the operating hours of the remaining shops.” The Edappadi K Palaniswami government had also announced the closure of 500 TASMAC shops on its first day in office as part of phased prohibition.
Adhellam theriyadhu. Thalapathy first CM in the world to close Tasmac shops. pic.twitter.com/cOl536MQLR
— Trollywood 𝕏 (@TrollywoodX) May 12, 2026
It is to be noted that the earlier DMK govt., in its 2021 poll manifesto, had promised to close liquor outlets. DMK MP Kanimozhi claimed that alcoholism caused by TASMAC liquor shops in Tamil Nadu had resulted in the state having the highest number of young widows in the country.
However, no steps in this direction were taken as the DMK govt. was heavily dependent on revenue from liquor sales, which accounted for almost 40 per cent of the total income of the government.
Kanimozhi had stated during the 2021 poll campaign that the DMK would implement total prohibition and close TASMAC shops upon returning to power, saying that 75 per cent of earnings in families with alcoholic members were being spent at TASMAC shops, destroying livelihoods.
According to the 2025–26 Policy Note, the Tamil Nadu government generated ₹48,344 crore in revenue from TASMAC for the financial year 2024–25, marking an increase from the previous year’s ₹45,855.70 crore. This includes ₹11,020.43 crore from excise and ₹37,323.57 crore from VAT.
Critics point out that “the closure of 717 TASMAC outlets is expected to result in a monthly revenue reduction of approximately ₹7.27 crore from bar closures. TASMAC outsources its products from distilleries owned mostly by DMK and AIADMK leaders. They have a total monopoly on this. It is a close-knit cartel. Besides, at TASMAC liquor outlets, products are sold five to ten rupees above the MRP, often leading to quarrels between employees and buyers. Total prohibition in Tamil Nadu is a remote possibility and a wild dream.”
