Is the prohibited distance of a liquor outlet from a highway reckoned as the aerial distance, not the distance a vehicle must travel?

Paragraph 13Coming to the case on hand, the District Collector's Report and the other materials presented before this Court (mentioned above), would clearly depict that the subject liquor retail vending shop run by TASMAC is situate 55.7 meters from the National Highway and the ninth respondent's recreation club is situated about 71 meters therefrom. The aforesaid distances are the aerial distances. It could also be seen from the report that the distance that needs to be travelled by a vehicle to reach the TASMAC Shop No.10215 or the ninth respondent's proposed recreational club from the National Highway is about 1.4 Kms which is 1400 meters. It is settled legal position that while reckoning distance in the present context, the actual distance that a vehicle / person needs to travel to reach the liquor retail units are insignificant and only the aerial distance is to be taken into consideration [See Judgment of a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in R.Gopinath -vs- The District Collector, reported in 2016-1-LW-663 for the proposition that, in the present context, distance means the shortest distance. The said Judgment has been followed by two another Co-ordinate Bench of this Court for the same proposition, in their Judgment dated March 17, 2016 made in Narayan - vs- The Chief Secretary, made in W.P. No.7505 of 2013 and Judgment dated February 13, 2017, made in Sakthivel -vs- The State in W.P. (MD) No.2344 of 2017]. As stated above, Hon'ble Supreme Court has held that must be a minimum of 220 meters between the outer edge of Highways and the liquor shop. The aerial distance of the TASMAC Shop No.10215 and the ninth respondent's proposed recreational club from the National Highway being 55.7 meters and 71 meters, their location is not in consonance with the afore-cited Judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court.