On the direction of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, excise officials closed a liquor bar situated near Kuruvikkaran Salai causeway here on Wednesday.
Reference to the bar came up when Justices K. K. Sasidharan and G. R. Swaminathan were hearing a petition filed by an advocate I. Mohamed Rizvi for closure of a bar run by a recreation club near Pandikoil.
When the apex court had directed closure of liquor bars that were functioning close to highways, a ‘recreation club’ was functioning close to the four-lane highway near Pandikoil, the petition said. Though officials were aware of the violation, they permitted sale of liquor at this shop alone, while closing four other outlets recently. The ‘recreation club’ not only served liquor at odd hours, but also sold ‘fake liquor’ in the wake of good demand.
The government counsel said that the said recreation club had been closed. However, the judges said that they also used the stretch and were aware of its functioning. Petitioner’s advocates informed the court that a similar bar was functioning near Kuruvikkaran Salai in violation of licence conditions. The court ordered the closure of the bar by 6 p.m. on Wednesday and directed the Collector to file a compliance report by Thursday morning and the Assistant Commissioner of Excise to appear in person.
