Liquor Not A Smuggled Good To Be Sold Without Proper Facilities: Kerala High Court To State

The Kerala High Court on Friday during the oral proceedings declared that necessary steps should be taken to make sure that liquor is sold in an acceptable manner by the State like all other goods.

A Single Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran was hearing a contempt matter regarding the non-implementation of the Court's order to provide a dignified way to citizens to purchase liquor from BEVCO outlets.

The State government had informed the Court that out of 306 liquor outlets in the State, around 96 were found to be short of basic facilities. 

The Bench noticed that women and children were finding it difficult to walk near these liquor outlets and that the neighboring residents had to put up with a great deal of nuisance solely due to the lack of proper facilities. 

Accordingly, the Bench observed that the concerned authorities should understand that liquor is not a smuggled good to be sold without proper infrastructure. 

Excise Commissioner S. Ananthakrishnan IPS was directed to submit a report after a comprehensive audit of the facilities and suitability of each retail liquor store in the State in the last hearing.

In the report that was submitted before the Court today, it was disclosed that considering the number of liquor outlets in the State, one shop had to cater to the needs of more than one lakh of the population. 

Compared to the neighbouring states, the number of liquor outlets in the State was cited to be low based on population. Data also revealed that in the surrounding States, approximately 17000 people were served with one liquor store. 

This was one of the primary reasons behind overcrowding and long queues in front of the liquor store, as per the report. Hence, a proposal has been put forth to start moe outlets in the State.

Additionally, it was submitted that the audit team recommended shifting 96 liquor outlets from the present locations due to a lack of basic facilities. The report states that only 47 stores were found to have convenient space for providing self-service counters. 

The Commissioner informed that Court that recommendations have been forwarded to the MD, Kerala State Beverage Corporation to provide such facilities in other outlets as well. 

The Court had earlier expressed its appreciation for the efforts taken by the Excise Commissioner and Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd. for crowd control in front of retail liquor stores and better infrastructure at such facilities across the State.

Case Title: My Hindustan Paints v S.Ananthakrishnan IPS