Consider Relocating Liquor Outlets Away From Main Roads: Kerala High Court Suggests To State

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the State to consider relocating liquor outlets of state-run beverages corporation from the main road to less crowded areas, to address the issue of overcrowding and to avoid inconvenience to the commuters and residents nearby. 

A Division Bench of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly was hearing two PILs, one filed by a lawyer and another taken up by the court suo moto, regarding overcrowding in front of liquor outlets amidst the pandemic with no regard to Covid-19 protocol such as social distancing.

The Excise Commissioner informed the court that pursuant to the interim order passed by the Court on 7th July, it had issued a list of directions on the very next day to regulate the crowd.

According to the aforementioned directions, the number of counters was to be increased based on the increase in sales, more staff was to be deployed, a token system would be introduced to reduce long queues, and stores devoid of necessary infrastructure were to be immediately relocated. 

Advocate T Naveen representing Kerala State Beverages (M&M) Corporation Ltd. further submitted that since the profit margin for liquor sale in Bar Hotels was reduced from 25% to 30%, the possibility of sale in the Bar Hotels will increase, thereby causing reduction of crowding in front of state-owned shops. 

State Attorney Advocate N. Manoj Kumar added that at present, there were 1242 outlets for the sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and that steps were being taken for reduction of crowds before these stores. Accordingly, two stores were already directed to be closed down.

It was additionally submitted that the respondents were exploring possibilities for relocating liquor stores. This is when the Court suggested that the outlets close to main roads can be relocated to less crowded areas to avoid causing inconvenience to the residents in the neighborhood and to the commuters. 

The matter has been accordingly posted after 10 days. 

The Court on a previous occasion had directed the State to file an immediate response regarding the unregulated overcrowding in front of liquor outlets in the State despite the surge in Covid positive cases. A Single Bench had also commented that a third wave of the pandemic may not be so far away if the overcrowding situation was not controlled soon, earlier this month. 

Case Title: Adv. K Vijayan v. State of Kerala & Ors. 

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