Thiruvananthpuram, Dec 30: The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld Kerala’s new liquor policy restricting sale and consumption of liquor at bars in five star hotels only.
The judgment pronounced by the bench of Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh means that hundreds of restaurants and bars in the state cannot sell liquor. Many of them have been converted to beer and wine parlours after the state government announced the new policy.
The verdict was reserved on August 27 after long arguments spread over many days wherein the Kerala government, defending its policy, had said that those ousted from the business had no fundamental right to continue selling liquor at their bars.
The batch of petitions by the Kerala Bar Hotel Association and others had contended that the new policy discriminated against other hotels.
