Thiruvananthapuram: Around 600 bar owners in Kerala, Saturday decided to move the Supreme Court against an interim Kerala High Court verdict upholding the state government’s new liquor policy.
The bar owners have requested that bars should be allowed to be run till the final verdict of the Kerala High Court comes.
The Kerala Bar Hotel Owners Association’s petition will come up for hearing at the apex court Tuesday, said an association office bearer.
The Kerala High Court had Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by the association challenging the new liquor policy of the Kerala government.
In its ruling, the court said liquor business was not a fundamental right and the state government had made things very clear in its liquor policy.
Under the new liquor policy of Kerala government announced last month last month, all the 710 bars in the state will be closed down Sep 12th as part of the government’s decision to achieve total prohibition in the next 10 years.
From the next fiscal, liquor would be served only in five-star hotels operating in the state.
Out of the 383 state-owned retail liquor shops, 10 percent will close down each year paving way for Kerala to achieve complete prohibition by Oct 2, 2023.