Agencies/Thiruvananthapuram
The Kerala High Court yesterday upheld a ban on alcohol served in most bars in the southern state, in a major blow to hoteliers.
The court backed the state government’s plans to introduce almost complete prohibition in a bid to tackle the area’s drinking problem.
Justice K Surendra Mohan said “the challenge made against the policy” by hoteliers “fails,” rejecting arguments that the move would drive away tourists seeking some booze with their beach holiday.
However the court made some concessions, ruling that hotels with a four-star and heritage ranking could stay open.
Hotel owners warned that hotels would close as a result of the ruling - although not as many as originally feared.
“It is a very unfortunate order as it will shut around 200 of the 312 bars in the state,” G Sudhiesh Kumar, a hotelier and president of the local Bars Association said.
“We will definitely go in for an appeal,” he told the NDTV network.
Owners had been hopeful of overturning the ban after the Supreme Court ordered a stay in September on introducing the policy until the Kerala High Court had ruled on the petitions.
The Kerala government had planned for all hotels to close, although shops selling liquor would be phased out over 10 years and five-star places exempt from the ban except on Sundays.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who announced the policy on August 21, said the Congress Party-led government would go ahead with its long-term plans which included a massive awareness campaign.
He said the court had endorsed his prohibition policy with minor exemptions. The long-term ban plan will stay and the state will be free of alcohol in ten years.
Chandy said the government’s policy has been accepted and it cannot be said it’s only a partial victory, if one looks at the huge number of bars that have been ordered to close down.
But leader of opposition V S Achuthanandan said it was a setback because the government had earlier only allowed five-star hotel bars, but with this verdict, now four-star hotel bars can also be kept open.
However, state Excise Minister K Babu said the verdict was not a setback.
“Now we will study the verdict and decide the next course of action,” said Babu.
State Congress president V M Sudheeran welcomed the verdict and said it has upheld the liquor policy of the state government.
“Now we will see what we can do to bring the four-star hotel bars also out of the present list and for that we will seek legal recourse,” said Sudheeran.
Employees working in a three-star hotel in the state capital said it was a sad day for them.
“...we are so sad as we are left with no job. I have been in this industry for the past quarter of a century as a waiter in a bar restaurant,” said a waiter.
Meanwhile, the state government has already begun talks with trade union leaders for devising a rehabilitation package for registered employees working in the bars that will now be closed.
“One round of talks is over and very soon we will have a second round. We have asked the stakeholders to come out with their suggestions,” said Babu.
Another bar employee who has lost his job due to the closure of the bars said Kerala’s loss would be Tamil Nadu’s gain as tipplers will now cross the border to have a drink.