SC rejects bar owners' pleas, upholds Kerala liquor policy

December 29, 2015 10:51

The Supreme Court has upheld the Kerala government policy restricting the sale and consumption of liquor at the bars in five star hotels only and ejecting other hotels serving liquor at bars from the business.

The judgment pronounced by the bench of Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh dismissed all appeals by restaurant and bar owners against the Kerala government's policy and directed that only 27 bars in five star hotels to work in Kerala, three and four star hotels not to operate bars.

The verdict was reserved on August 27 after long arguments spread over many days wherein the Kerala government, defending its policy, had said that those ousted from the business had no fundamental right to continue selling liquor at the bar.

The batch of petitions by the Kerala Bar Hotel Association and others had contended that the new policy that permitted only the five star hotels to sell and serve liquor bars in their hotels was discriminatory to other hotels.

The liquor policy restricting the sale and consumption of liquor at the bar benefitted 24 five-star hotels in the state and it was upheld by the Kerala high court on March 31.

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