Kerala: Sale, consumption of alcohol in 5-star hotels only- Supreme Court

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 29, 2015: The Supreme Court has affirmed the Kerala government’s new excise policy restricting the sale and consumption of liquor at the bars in five star hotels only, thereby ejecting other liquor bars from business.

A bench of Justices Vikramajit Sen and Shiva Kirti Singh upheld the policy while rejecting a clutch of petitions moved by various hotels and their associations against the ban.

While the hotels had argued that the new policy was discriminatory since it allowed only five star hotels to serve liquor, the Kerala government defended its policy by saying that those ousted from the business had no fundamental right to continue selling liquor at the bar. It had added  that liquor was available on the retail outlets and people can buy and drink at their homes.

The liquor policy restricting the sale and consumption of liquor at the bar was upheld by the Kerala High Court on March 31.

The Oommen Chandy-led Congress government in Kerala had introduced the policy last year which will allow only five-star pubs and hotels to serve alcohol. The state wants to go for complete prohibition of alcohol in the next 10 years.

The Kerala government had told the Supreme Court in April this year that they want to prevent young people from destroying their lives by drinking too much, and that hotel owners cannot be allowed to make money at the cost of the future of the youth.

The top court was told that Kerala’s share was 14.9 per cent of the total consumption of liquor in the country and that its people consume alcohol worth Rs 30 crore a day.

 

Courtesy: Indianexpress