Blow to Kerala bar owners, HC upholds ban on liquor in the state

TNN

Kochi, Oct 30, 2014: In a blow to Kerala bar owners, the high court on Thursday upheld the ban on liquor in the state, in view of the state government’s revised abkari policy.

 

Justice K Surendra Mohan pronounced the verdict this afternoon.

 

The state government in its new liquor policy has limited sale of alcohol to five-star hotels and government-owned retail stores (Bevcos).

 

Currently, the state has 312 bars in business, including 20 of them attached to five-star hotels. Earlier on April 1, 418 bars were closed down since the government had refused to renew their licences, citing its liquor policy.

 

 

The UDF government’s decision to shut down bars, widely seen as a political expediency due to a tussle for power within the Congress and among the UDF allies than out of conviction, in a state which has a tradition of responsible drinking had caught national as well as global attention.

 

Kerala has the highest per capita consumption of alcohol in the country and the state rakes in Rs 9,000 crore per annum from sale of liquor.

 

On September 11, the Supreme Court had stayed the move by the state government to shut down all bars except five-star ones and demanded that status quo be maintained. A bench of justices A R Dave and U U Lalit had asked the Kerala high court to decide expeditiously on petitions from bar owners challenging the liquor policy, if possible before September 30.

 

Around 80 petitions filed by owners of bar hotels in the state had come up for consideration before Justice Mohan. After completion of hearing, the court had reserved the case for pronouncing orders on September 25.

 

Supreme Court senior counsel C Aryama Sundaram, representing bar owners, had argued before the HC that the Oommen Chandy government’s policy was discriminatory.