No Dry Day on Holi 2026? Maharashtra Govt Clarifies On Liquor Sale Rules For Festivals

For decades, festivals and national observances in Maharashtra have automatically meant shuttered liquor shops. According to a report by The Live Nagpur, the Maharashtra government has decided to permit liquor shops across the state to operate on certain days that were traditionally marked as "dry days." The festivals named in the report include Holi, Muharram and Gandhi Jayanti. Now Maharashtra excise department issued the clarification after reports claimed that the government had allowed liquor shops across the state to remain open on these days.

Maharashtra Excise Commissioner Rajesh Deshmukh on Tuesday dismissed reports of the state government cancelling statutory ”dry days” for Holi, Muharram and Gandhi Jayanti as ”fake news”, asserting that the existing liquor policy remains unchanged.Deshmukh clarified that the state will continue to enforce eight mandatory dry days under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act.The clarification has come amid reports on social media, which claimed that the ban on the sale of liquor on Holi, Muharram, and Gandhi Jayanti had been revoked.

According to the existing rules, the sale of liquor remains prohibited on January 26 (Republic Day), January 30 (Martyrs’ Day), May 1 (Maharashtra Day), Ashadhi Ekadashi, August 15 (Independence Day), Anant Chaturdashi, October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti/Prohibition Week) and Kartiki Ekadashi.The commissioner further stated that under section 142 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, district collectors are empowered to declare additional dry days within their respective jurisdictions.