Not on one count, but at least on five counts, the Excise Department has shut the iconic Glenary’s bar in Darjeeling for three months, The Indian Express has learnt.
On Monday, a team of the West Bengal Excise Department raided the 150-year-old eatery, situated in the heart of Darjeeling and owned by Ajoy Edwards, the founder of the Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF).
As the Excise team left after ordering the shutdown of the bar, the officials maintained that one of the violations was Rule 239 of the West Bengal Excise Foreign Liquor Rules, 1998, which requires permission from the Collector of Excise for holding live band or musical performances.
However, the ordersheet states that the eatery violated on four more counts:
Non-maintenance of regular, accurate accounts with non-attestation by the licensee or authorised representative.
Storage of foreign liquor at an unauthorised premises in violation of the licence condition and section 16 of the Bengal Excise Act, 1909.
Presence of both excess and shortage of various alcoholic beverages stored in an unauthorised location.
And additions and alterations made without obtaining prior approval from the Collector.
Following the closure of the bar – Glenary’s restaurant, bakery and eatery, however, remains open – Ashok Tamang, the manager, said: “On Monday, when officials of the Excise Department arrived, I initially thought it could be some routine check. They said that the bar’s live performance licence is not valid. But we had already submitted the application to the police.”
Edwards, meanwhile, hinted at a political witch hunt behind the administration’s action on his restaurant-bar just ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations.
According to him, the action came days after he inaugurated a bridge in Darjeeling and named it ‘Gorkhaland’.
“When people come together, everything becomes possible. The final touches are being added to the Gorkhaland Bridge, a bridge built by the people against all odds. The 70-foot-wide Gorkhaland sign is now being installed, and the bridge itself stretches close to two hundred feet,” he wrote. (earlier posted now the bridge has already been inaugurated)
Speaking to The Indian Express on Wednesday, the IGJF leader said he will move the High Court against the Excise Department’s action.
“I have been getting a lot of calls ever since the pub was shut down. Our sales have fallen by 50 per cent. It was 12 lakh a day. It has come down to 6.5 lakh, and that’s huge for us,” he said.
Edwards also claimed that they had submitted an application seeking permission for live musical performances at the bar.
When The Indian Express contacted Darjeeling police, an officer said, “Rule 239 leaves discretion on the Collector and not the police. The police have no role in it.”
But the Excise Department’s order sheet stated: “From the written submission by the licensee, it is crystal clear that the licensee is aware of the Rules (239) that require requisite permission from the Collector of Excise for holding such live band/musical performances…. This conduct demonstrates deliberate, intentional, and persistent non-compliance, indicating that the licensee is wilfully and consciously involved in conducting such unauthorised live band/ musical performances.”
“The licensee also admitted that no fresh application seeking approval for live band/music for the current financial year had been submitted to the Collector, as required under Rule 239,” read the order sheet.
“Considering… the number and gravity of such irregularities and violations… the lackadaisical approach of the licensee in maintaining documents, books, accounts, the whimsical and nonchalant approach of the licensee towards running the license, willful and rampant violation, render the license liable for suspension as per the provision(s) of Section 42 of the Bengal Excise Act, 1909,” it added.
The order sheet also revealed that the process of inspection of the eatery began on October 30. “The relevant ‘Inspection Report’, initiated on 30.10.2025 and concluded on 31.10.2025, and other relevant records, including videographic evidence, were duly examined and also heard the verbal submissions of A L Edwards,” it said.
Edwards’ political rise, and recent rekindling of Gorkhaland statehood demand
The fourth-generation owner of Glenary’s, Edwards shot to the political spotlight in 2022 when his party, Hamro Party, won the Darjeeling Municipality polls, just three months after its formation.
Unlike other hill parties, the new entrant in Bengal hill politics did not fight elections on the slogan of a separate Gorkhaland. Instead, it rode on the poll plank of overall development and basic amenities, winning 18 of the 32 seats in the Darjeeling Municipality. Edwards, the former Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) leader, however, lost.
Last December, Edwards dissolved the Hamro Party to launch a new political front — Indian Gorkha Janashakti Front — bringing to the fore once again the demand for the separate statehood of Gorkhaland.
Edwards had then said that Gorkhaland is the outfit’s vision.
“There is a renewed hope for us to take forward our cause for a separate state for our people. For us, Gorkhaland is our vision. Everyone has a vision, and that has to be respected. I cannot say it will happen tomorrow, but we will sincerely work towards that,” he had said last year.
The rekindling of the separate statehood demand comes at a time when the Centre has appointed former Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Kumar Singh as its interlocutor to address the long-pending demands of the Gorkha community in the Darjeeling Hills.
The Darjeeling interlocutor’s appointment has also become a new bone of contention between the Trinamool Congress (TMC)-led state government and the BJP-led central government, so much so that Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, called the appointment “inconsistent with the spirit of cooperative federalism” while seeking its revocation.