23. Number of licences to be fixed according to local needs.
- The number of licences which may be granted for any local area shall be regulated by the needs of the people of that area, and no licence for the sale of any intoxicant in any local area shall be granted unless it is required either to meet an ascertained demand for such intoxicant or to counteract supply through illicit sources :Provided that the number of licences for the wholesale or retail vend of any intoxicant, not being licences mentioned in Section 37 of the Act in force in any local area at any time during a financial year, shall not exceed the minimum number of such licences which were in force at any one time during the previous financial year, unless the Chief Commissioner otherwise directs.
