INDIALast-gasp relief for Kerala’ bars
Apex court halts closure until end of September
By Akhel Mathew, Correspondent
September 11, 2014
Thiruvananthapuram: Hundreds of liquor bars in Kerala got an eleventh-hour reprieve as the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered authorities not to interefere with their operations until September 30.
The ruling United Democratic Front government in the state had said all liquor bars in the state, barring those in five star hotels, were to be shut down on Friday.
The apex court directive comes at a time when it is considering a petition by the liquor bar owners, who argue that it is discriminatory for five star hotels to be allowed to sell liquor while other bars are ordered shut.
As many as 418 bars had remained closed on the ground that they did not have “adequate facilities” and the government ordered shut the remaining 312 bars as part of its objective to impose prohibition in a phased manner.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had questioned the logic of Kerala allowing five-star hotels to serve liquor and prohibiting other bar hotels from doing so.
“There is no logic. What do you mean by substandard?”, justice Anil R. Dave had asked the state government in connection with its decision to shut down ‘substandard’ bars and permit five star hotels to serve liquor.
The state government argued in court that the menace of alcoholism was a major social problem in the state, affecting hundreds of families.
Responding to the apex court’s directive on Friday, state finance minister K.M. Mani said the directive was “not a setback”. Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan described the court’s directive a “big blow for the state government”.
Earlier, the tourism industry and the IT sector in the state had both opined that a move for prohibition in the state would seriously affect the fortunes of their respective sectors.
Reports are already pouring in about tourist groups cancelling their trips to Kerala, turned off by the government’s prohibition policy
Many of them are reportedly opting for Goa and Sri Lanka.
The apex court has directed the state High Court to expeditiously deal with the petitions regarding the new liquor policy of the government.
The High Court will now take up these petitions on September 18. The state government’s plan is to phase out the retail liquor outlets too, over a 10-year period. In the process, it will also have to face a loss of revenue of roughly Rs70 billion (Dh4.2 billion) per year, which was accruing from liquor sales.
) imagente link post cheythu ...... aa thendi thamashakku athil keri pidichu reply cheythu .
