Joseph Vijay, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, has issued an order to close 717 state-run liquor stores within 500 meters of bus stops, schools, and temples in the state.
The stores run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, or TASMAC, are scheduled to close in two weeks. Superstar actor and leader of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, which won a landslide victory in the Assembly election last month, issued the first decree.
However, because they were 10 seats short of a majority, Vijay and the TVK, which won 108 (107 after Vijay resigned from one of the two seats he won) of the state's 234 seats, were forced to wait to form the government.

"With the welfare of the general public in mind, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, C Joseph Vijay, has issued orders to close - within two weeks - 717 retail liquor shops situated within a 500-meter radius of places of worship, educational institutions, and bus stands."
According to the government, TASMAC presently runs 4,765 liquor stores in the state, 276 of which are close to houses of worship, 186 of which are close to educational institutions, and 255 of which are close to bus stops.
Despite the fact that TASMAC liquor sales account for a sizable portion of the state's revenue, the closure decision reflects opinion from both parties. For instance, overall income exceeded Rs 48,000 crore in 2025.
Additionally, it marks the beginning of Vijay's pledge to create a Tamil Nadu that is "addiction-free."TASMAC assertions made by ED
In the run-up to the April election, the Enforcement Directorate was keeping an eye on TASMAC stores. In relation to alleged money-laundering violations by the corporation and its companies, it conducted raids at locations throughout the state last year.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was in power at the time, and pushback over the raids brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Additionally, the court expressed disapproval of the federal agency's breaching of jurisdictional boundaries in May of last year.
"How does the federal structure fare? "When you have a doubt ... 'is the state not investigating'... can you do it yourself?" enquired a bench presided over by Chief Justice BR Gavai at the time. "Are you not taking away the state government's right to investigate?"

Allegations of Rs 1,000 crore
The agency stated that it discovered "multiple irregularities" in TASMAC operations back in March.
Additionally, the ED claimed to have discovered "unaccounted" funds of Rs 1,000 crore. In particular, it claimed to have discovered "incriminating" information on business postings, bids for transportation and bar licenses, and indent orders "favouring" some distilleries.
Additionally, the ED said that there was "evidence" of illegal pricing, including surcharges ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 30 per bottle that were imposed by TASMAC stores with the "involvement" of TASMAC officials. Days later, the raids were carried out again.Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, ten locations were investigated, and the ED claimed to have discovered "manipulated data" that suggested tender award fraud.
Subsequently, state Excise Minister S Muthusamy launched a counterattack, claiming that state personnel were being harassed by the ED. He said that inspections of TASMAC's headquarters had "ulterior political motives" and accused it of having a "political vendetta."