Only the elites can now enjoy liquor outside their homes in Kerala. The High Court on Tuesday approved the State Government’s decision to close down all bars except two dozen of those operating in five-star hotels. No other bars will function in the State from Wednesday, the first day of the 2015-16 financial year, as per the verdict. However, retail liquor outlets will continue to operate.
Quashing the October 30 order of a single-judge Bench which allowed bars at four-star and heritage hotels to operate, a division Bench of the High Court comprising Justices KT Sankaran and Babu Mathew P Joseph on Tuesday ruled that the court will not interfere with the right of the State Government to formulate its liquor policy. According to the verdict which effectively became a shot in the arm for the Congress-led UDF Government’s policy for implementing total liquor ban in a phased manner, all the 300 bars that had been functioning so far on the basis of an interim court order were to be closed at 10.30 pm on Tuesday. “They won’t open on Wednesday,” said State Excise Minister K Babu.
The State Government had announced its liquor policy on August 22 last stating that all the functioning bars in the State would be closed down immediately and ten per cent of the retail liquor outlets would be closed every year leading to complete eradication of liquor within the next ten years. It, however, said that the bars at the five-star hotels could continue to operate. The policy also said that the 418 bars closed down on March 31, 2014 for lack of required facilities would not be allowed to reopen. However, the Oommen Chandy Government later decided to allot licences to all bars, including the 418 already closed, to operate as beer-and-wine parlours.
With the High Court approving the Government’s policy, only the affluent of the society could afford to enjoy liquor in an ambient setting, complained a middle-class boozer in Kochi. “Others will have to stand in queues at the retail outlets,” he said. Bar owners’ representatives said they would approach the Supreme Court immediately.
The High Court settled five appeals on Tuesday. The bar owners through their appeals had questioned the earlier court order directing closure of all the 312 functioning bars, including the 250 with two-star and three-star status. The Government had appealed against the single-judge Bench’s order allowing bars to functions at four-star and heritage hotels.
Pronouncing the verdict, which took about six hours, the division Bench made some scathing criticisms against bar owners. Stating that facilitating free availability of liquor or consumption of booze was not a fundamental right, it told the bar owners that they need not worry about the loss of revenue the Government might suffer because of the closure of bars. Stating that the Government could frame and implement the policy of its choice in this matter, the court questioned the theory that lack of liquor availability could affect the growth of the tourism industry. If somebody argued that cocaine was necessary for the growth of tourism sector, that could not be accepted, the Bench added.
The court also said that the bar owners’ argument that closure of bars would lead to loss of jobs to many was not acceptable. It said the Government would take care of this. The opening of beer-wine parlours would be helpful in solving this problem, it said. “The bar owners had got anything to feel relieved at no point during the reading of the verdict,” said a senior lawyer.
The court also ruled that the Government’s policy was acceptable particularly in the context of the fact that Kerala was ahead of other States in consumption of alcohol. Governments should take into consideration the larger public good while formulating policies, the court observed.