A decision of a Division Bench of the High Court on Friday to stay a Single Bench verdict to close down bars in all two and three star hotels for a month has set the stage for a protracted legal tussle between the government and the bar owners.
Keeping in line with the High Court order on Thursday, the government initiated steps to close down 250 bars in this category in the morning itself. Excise personnel were deployed to seal the bars and take stock of the liquor stored in godowns. The government has not yet taken a decision on whether the liquor stored in the godowns should be sold through the outlets of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation. But the stay order came as a breather to the bar owners by afternoon, and all the bars immediately resumed functioning.
Excise Minister K. Babu, who expressed discontent, said the Division Bench order could not be deemed a setback to the government. The government would seek legal advice on the future course of action, he said. But there was an ambiguity about how the government would deal with the applications of two and three-star hotels seeking four-star status. Almost all the bar owners in this category had enhanced facilities, spending substantial sums aiming at status upgrade.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president V.D. Satheesan said a legal battle between the bar owners and the government over the liquor policy was in the offing. He felt the Division Bench order was not a setback to the government, and the case would finally be settled only in the Supreme Court.
Contentious issues such as rehabilitation of the bar workers and strengthening of the Excise Department to prevent the flow of spirit to the State and illicit distilling await a government decision.
