Calcutta High Court Rules Anganwadi Centres Are Educational Institutions, Bars Liquor Shop Within 1,000 Feet
A liquor shop cannot be moved to a site within 1,000 feet of an Anganwadi centre, the Calcutta High Court has ruled, holding that Anganwadi centres are educational institutions for the purpose of the West Bengal excise rules.
Kolkata: An Anganwadi centre falls within the category of a school for the purpose of Rule 8 of the excise rules, the Calcutta High Court held on Thursday, November 12, 2026. It dismissed an intra-court appeal by a liquor shop owner from Hooghly district who wanted to move his foreign liquor shop to his own land, agreeing that the excise authorities were right to refuse the shift because the new site fell within 1,000 feet of an Anganwadi centre [Aloke Kuma Dey v. The State of West Bengal & Ors.].
The appeal, MAT 2297 of 2025, was heard by a Division Bench of Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee. It challenged a Single Judge’s order of October 5, 2023, which had dismissed the shop owner’s writ petition, WPA 22977 of 2022.
Anganwadis impart pre-school education
The Bench found no infirmity in the Single Judge’s view. It noted that Anganwadi centres are set up under the Integrated Child Development Services Scheme and provide care and elementary education to children aged three to six, and that Section 11 of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 requires governments to arrange free pre-school education for that age group. It also pointed to Rule 5(5)(iv) of the West Bengal Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2012, under which the child register must record the school, pre-school or Anganwadi centre where a child received elementary education.
“Pre-school education / elementary education are being imparted to children between the age of 3 to 6 years at Anganwadi Centres and such centres are recognised under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 and Rules framed thereunder. They function under the Department of Women and Child and Social Welfare. The fact that they are educational institutions, recognized by law is not in doubt. Under such circumstances they also fall under the category of a school for the purpose of implementation of Rule 8 of the 2003 Rules of 2003.”
The refusal at Tinar More
The appellant ran a foreign liquor shop called ‘Tinar More CS Shop’ from rented premises at Mouza Tinar, under the Sarai Tinar Gram Panchayat in Hooghly. When he applied to shift the shop to land he owned, the competent authority turned him down because the proposed site lay within 1,000 feet of an Anganwadi centre. Rule 8 of the West Bengal Excise (New Sites and Grant of Licence) Rules, 2003 bars liquor shops within that distance of a recognised educational institution.
Advocate Tapash Kumar Bhattacharya, for the appellant, argued that an Anganwadi centre could not be equated with an educational institution recognised by the State or Central Government, as such centres were not governed by the School Education Department. He also claimed the proposed shop was in fact more than 1,000 feet from the centre, a point he said the Single Judge had overlooked.
For the State, Additional Government Pleader Susmita Saha Dutta relied on a notification of the Excise Department dated January 20, 2012, which clarified that Anganwadi centres could not be excluded from the meaning of educational institution under Rule 8.
Door left open on distance
Upholding the Single Judge’s order, the Bench dismissed the appeal as devoid of merit. It clarified, however, that the appellant may approach the competent authority if he maintains that the proposed site is beyond 1,000 feet of the Anganwadi centre, and directed the authority in that event to act in accordance with law after giving him due notice.
Before taking up the appeal, the Court condoned the delay in filing it, accepting that serious illness and hospitalisation of the appellant’s wife, son and mother amounted to sufficient cause. The condonation was made subject to costs of Rs 5,000, payable within three weeks to the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority for transmission to the High Court’s Juvenile Justice Committee.
Why the order matters
Distance rules for liquor outlets exist to keep children away from alcohol sales. By treating Anganwadi centres as schools under Rule 8, the ruling extends that buffer to the youngest children, who attend these centres in large numbers in villages, and closes an argument that only formal schools under the education department count. Licensees seeking new sites in West Bengal will now have to measure the distance from Anganwadi centres too.
Case Title: Aloke Kuma Dey v. The State of West Bengal & Ors. [MAT 2297 of 2025 with CAN 1 of 2026 and CAN 2 of 2026]
Bench: Justice Shampa Sarkar and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, Calcutta High Court
Date of Order: November 12, 2026
For the Appellant: Tapash Kumar Bhattacharya, Sandip Ghosh and Partha Sarkar
For the State: Susmita Saha Dutta, Additional Government Pleader, with Madhurima Saha
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