The Kerala High Court has rejected a petition by the Kerala Bar Hotels Association challenging the Government’s new liquor policy and the order to close 300-odd bars attached to three- and four-star hotels in the State.

The Government had late last month announced its new liquor policy which aimed to implement prohibition in phases over the next decade. As part of the new policy, the Government decided to get all bars, except those attached to five-star hotels, closed. Serving a 15-day advance notice, the Government asked these bars to close by September 12. Already, 418 bars, in the lower star categories, had been closed since March 31.

Challenging the liquor policy, the bar owners sought a temporary court stay on the closure order. But, a division bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain the petition.

The bench said that since the Government had already come out with its liquor policy, the court would not intervene in the closure order. It also said the right to sell liquor was not a fundamental right.

With the court’s rejection of the stay application, the bar-owners have no option but to fall in line with the Government’s order. This would mean that of the 730 bars functioning in the State just six months ago, only a handful of five-star bars would be open from September 12.

Together, these bars used to command one-fifth of the liquor market in Kerala. The rest is controlled by the government-owned Kerala State Beverages Corporation, which will continue to sell liquor at its nearly 350 outlets.

The new liquor policy has a plan to close down one-tenth of these outlets every year so that 10 years down the lane, there would be no KSBC outlets functioning.

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