The Supreme Court today relaxed its ban on liquor vends alongside highways in nine districts of Uttarakhand and parts of two other districts from the 500-metre cap. <br/><br/>A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar granted the relief to the hill state after its counsel referred to the March 31 order and said the relaxation be extended to the state as it was suffering severely due to the ban.<br/><br/>The relaxation would apply to the districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Pauri Garhwal, Pithoragarh, Champawat, Bageshwar and Almora.<br/><br/>Earlier, the court had exempted hill states of Sikkim, Meghalaya and Himachal Pradesh and areas having population upto 20,000 from the 500-metre cap on liquor vends alongside highways.