Kerala on Friday sought a three-month extension to implement the Supreme Court ban on sale of liquor within 500 metres of national and State highways.
The Supreme Court's ban has been in place across many States since April 1, 2017. The court had imposed the nationwide ban in a judgment on December 15, 2016, against the sale of liquor along highways as a drastic measure to curb drunken driving, which has claimed many fatal casualties on Indian roads.
On March 31, 2017, the court further clarified that the ban included not just retail liquor outlets along the highways but also “larger establishments,” including beer and wine parlours, bars, hotels which sell liquor.
In its application, Kerala submitted that over a 1,000 establishments hit by the ban remained closed since April 1, 2017, but there was no space in the thickly-urbanised State to shift the businesses.
It said attempts to find new locations for the establishments concerned had become a cause for public furore. Residents and local neighbourhoods had no intention to host these establishments, which have been left in a quandary.
Kerala said the State had narrow stretches of highways traversing the length and breadth of it. At least three national highways pass through the State where even the smallest towns have a minimum population not less than 30,000. This means that the State cannot enjoy even the slight relief given by the court of reducing no-liquor zones along highways from 500 metres to 220 metres as in Himachal Pradesh.
The State said heavily populated landscapes sandwich the highways and there was no room to drag the liquor businesses away from the highways.
The State said that some liquor licences were renewed on the basis of the legal opinion rendered by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi that the ban was confined to retail liquor outlets and not larger establishments.
The March 31, 2017, clarification order ran completely counter to the legal opinion. A petition filed by former Assembly Speaker V.M. Sudheeran, represented by advocate Kaleeswaram Raj, had alleged that a Cabinet decision was taken to extend the liquor licences on the basis of Mr. Rohatgi’s opinion.
Besides, it said a partial prohibition was already existent in the State as only five-star hotels in the State served liquor.
