M/S High Spirits Food and Beverages Vs the State of Hp — Himachal Pradesh HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

M/S High Spirits Food and Beverages Vs the State of Hp — Himachal Pradesh HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Writ petition dismissed as withdrawn; liberty reserved to petitioner to seek appropriate remedy in accordance with law, in case need so arises in future; pending miscellaneous application(s), if any, stand disposed of.

Issue for consideration

Reliefs sought by the petitioner (not adjudicated; the petition was subsequently withdrawn): quashing of the impugned letters dated 30.08.2025 and 07.11.2025 issued by Respondent No. 3, to the extent they direct the petitioner to deposit monthly salaries of Home Guard personnel posted at its bottling plant and submit acknowledgements thereof to the Excise authorities, together with withdrawal of coercive enforcement directions against the petitioner or its licences.

Ratio / Principle

The present writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn, with liberty reserved to the petitioner to seek appropriate remedy in accordance with law, in case need so arises in future.

Key takeaways

Pending miscellaneous application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.ratio¶26

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla (single bench: Ms. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua); CWP No.11289 of 2026; decided 10 July 2026. M/s High Spirits Food & Beverages v. State of H.P. and others. The petitioner had sought quashing of letters dated 30.08.2025 and 07.11.2025 (Annexures P-3, P-4) issued by Respondent No. 3, to the extent they required deposit of monthly salaries of Home Guard personnel posted at the petitioner's bottling plant and submission of acknowledgements thereof to the Excise authorities, and had further sought withdrawal of coercive enforcement directions concerning such salary payments. Before adjudication of the merits, learned counsel stated that the petitioner was instructed to withdraw the writ petition in view of subsequent developments, requesting reservation of liberty to seek appropriate remedy in future. The Court dismissed the petition as withdrawn with liberty as prayed for and disposed of pending miscellaneous application(s). No statute or precedent was cited and no ruling was made on the underlying excise-salary requirement.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA

CWP No.11289 of 2026

Decided on: 10^th July, 2026

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- M/s High Spirits Food & Beverages …..Petitioner

Versus

State of H.P. and others .....Respondents

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coram

Ms. Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua

Whether approved for reporting?¹

For the Petitioner: Mr. Vinod Chauhan, Advocate.

For the Respondents: Mr. L.N. Sharma, Additional Advocate General.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jyotsna Rewal Dua, Judge

This writ petition has been filed for the grant of

following substantive reliefs:-

“1. That the impugned letter dated 30.08.2025 and 07.11.2025 (Annexure P-3, P-4) issued by Respondent No. 3 may very kindly be quashed and set aside qua the petitioner, to the extent it directs/requires the petitioner to deposit monthly salaries of Home Guard personnel posted at the petitioner's bottling plant and to submit acknowledgements thereof to the Excise authorities.

2. That the respondents be directed to withdraw all coercive directions issued to the Excise officer Incharge/ASTEO requiring enforcement of salary payments from the petitioner in respect of Home Guard personnel deputed at the petitioner’s unit, and restrain them from taking any coercive or adverse action against

1 Whether reporters of print and electronic media may be allowed to see the order? Yes

2

the petitioner or its licenses on account of non-payment of such salaries.”

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that he

is under instructions to withdraw this writ petition in view

of subsequent developments, however, petitioner be reserved liberty to seek appropriate remedy in accordance with law, in case need so arises in future.

Accordingly, the present writ petition is

dismissed as withdrawn with liberty as prayed for. Pending

miscellaneous application(s), if any, also stand disposed of.

Jyotsna Rewal Dua July 10, 2026 Judge Mukesh