Former KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran has issued a lawyer’s notice to the government asking it to immediately take steps to ensure that the retail liquor outlets that had been closed down on orders from the Supreme Court are not reopened.
In his notice, addressed to the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, Secretary (Excise), Secretary (Public Works) and Chief Engineer (National Highways), Mr. Sudheeran pointed out that though 1,956 retail liquor outlets, including bars, had been shut down following the apex court order, several had been reopened by their owners by securing interim orders from the Kerala High Court.
The interim orders were obtained by the interested parties on account of the fact that the respondents in the cases had not placed the correct position regarding the status of the roads before the High Court, he said.
He has taken particular exception to the government’s deposition before the High Court that the Kazhakuttam-Karode bypass is now National Highway 66 and that the Kesavadasapuram- Pattom road has ceased to be National Highway.
The government has taken a stand to suit the ‘artificial plea’ of the liquor outlet owners and to sabotage the Supreme Court judgment. A similar position was taken in Ernakulam as well, where several bar hotels had got their licences restored, he pointed out.
