The Tamil Nadu Prohibition and Excise Department has directed an RTI applicant to approach district-level excise offices instead of providing comprehensive statewide information on FL-2 liquor licences, mirroring its earlier response regarding details of the 717 TASMAC outlets closed by the State government, as reported in DT Next.
The response was issued to an RTI application filed by Coimbatore-based petitioner Yuvaraj Ramalingam, who sought information on FL-2 licences issued under the Tamil Nadu Liquor (Licence and Permit) Rules, 1981, from January 2026 onwards.
In its reply, the Department disclosed only one statewide figure, stating that 868 FL-2 licences are currently operational across Tamil Nadu.
However, it did not furnish information on several other aspects sought under the RTI application. These included month-wise details of new FL-2 licences issued, renewals granted, licences suspended or cancelled, district-wise break-ups, the number of applications received, approved and rejected, and particulars of licence holders whose licences had been suspended, cancelled or revoked, including licence numbers, districts, dates of action and the reasons recorded by the Department. It also did not provide category-wise details of licence cancellations and revocations.
Instead, the Department advised the applicant to approach the respective District Deputy Commissioners (Excise) to obtain the requested information.
Ramalingam objected to the response, stating that the State Public Information Officer should have provided the information at the State level instead of requiring applicants to approach multiple district offices. He argued that citizens should not be compelled to file separate requests with different district authorities to obtain information that was sought from the State headquarters.
The latest RTI response comes just days after the same applicant received a similar reply in connection with his request for details of the 717 TASMAC shops that were ordered to be closed by the Tamil Nadu government in May 2026. In that instance as well, the Department reportedly declined to provide the information centrally and instead directed him to seek the details from the respective district offices.
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