The State government on Wednesday informed the Kerala High Court that as many as13 beer/wine parlours opened along the the Kannur-Vengalam-Kuttippuram National Highway stretch had been shut down following the High Court’s oral directive.
When petitions seeking to review the court’s earlier judgment on the issue came up for hearing, the government pleader submitted that no liquor vending shops were allowed along the Cherthala-Oachira-Thiruvananthapuram stretch as the government was sure that it continued to be part of the National Highway. However, there was some confusion about the status of the Kannur-Vengalam-Kuttippuram Highway.
The court directed the Deputy Commissioners of Excise in the districts of Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram to appear personally before the court on June 14 with the files relating to the renewal of the beer and wine parlours opened along the Kannur-Kuttippuram stretch. The court observed that the deputy commissioners concerned should have cleared the confusion about the status of the road before allowing these liquor shops to function.
The court said it was not true that it had directed the government to take steps to allow the bear and wine parlous to open; it had only directed it to consider the claims of hoetliers (petitioner) in the light of all the notifications and orders issued with respect to the National Highway.
The court criticised one of the revision petitioners, former KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran, for his statements on the issue. The court said his statements would have adverse impact on the dignity of the judicial institution. The judiciary was not corrupt.
The court also directed the Principal Secretary, Public Works, to file an affidavit mentioning the date on which the Kuttippuram-Kannur road was denotified as highway.
