No ban on liquor bars for now in Kerala: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kerala government not to impose a ban on liquor bars and maintain status quo till September 30.

A bench of justices A R Dave and U U Lalit has instead asked the Kerala High Court to hear the case and take into consideration the concerns of bar owners, including an allegedly discriminatory clause that would allow only five-star hotels to serve alcohol.

“What is the logic behind this? We don’t see any logic behind this,” the bench had said.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had questioned the logic behind Kerala government's new liquor policy for limiting bar licences to only 5-star hotels as part of a move to implement total prohibition in the state in 10 years and had agreed to examine a petition filed before it.

It had also asked the state government not to take any coercive step against bars that were scheduled to shut shop starting Thursday.

A bunch of top lawyers including senior advocates Fali S Nariman, Ram Jethmalani, Rajeev Dhawan, C S Sunderam and Arvind Dattar, appearing for various hotels, had argued that the policy is discriminatory in nature.

While questioning the state government's decision to allow bars only in five-star hotels, the Apex court said: "If you want to ban alcohol, stop it totally, like Gujarat."

In their plea, bar owners in Kerala had said, "This is discriminatory. We are not seeking liquor illegally. We have licences. You may choose to not renew our licenses when they expire. But don't revoke them half way through."

Announcing a 10-year plan that would bring prohibition to Kerala, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said last month that only five-star hotels will be allowed to keep serving booze and even they will have go dry on Sundays.

According to the government's plans, state-run liquor stores, where men queue up for their daily fix, will be phased out at a rate of ten percent a year for the next decade, leaving a big hole in the state coffers after alcohol taxes and fees generated more than $1 billion or 6,000 crores in the 2012-13 financial year.

Bar owners who have taken the government to court say if there is an alcohol ban, tourists will start opting for other regional destinations -- perhaps the beaches of nearby Goa or Sri Lanka. A recent survey from travel portal Holiday IQ.com, which polled 5,000 Indians, showed 58 percent of the respondents will change their travel plans because of the new no-boozing policy.