Kochi: Amidst confusion over the functioning bar hotels and beer and wine parlours along the state and national highways, the state has denied the licence to a five-star hotel in Thiruvananthapuram citing the latest Supreme Court order. It rejected the application of Hycinth Hotel in the state capital for the permission to serve liquor in a February 7 order in a significant move disregarding their claim that the apex court order would not affect them. As the state has not moved SC seeking clarification on the issue, the denial could be a headache for other five-star hotels as well. Additional chief secretary P. Mara Pandiyan's order cites the SC ruling while rejecting the luxury hotel’s revision petition.
The apex court had held that no liquor outlet should be visible from the national highway, directly accessible from a national or state highway or situated within a distance of 500 metres of their outer edge or a service lane. "The above three conditions are applicable in the case of the petitioner's hotel also," the order says.
If the state complies with the court decision, at least 586 beer and wine parlours would be shut. Though the government is yet to give a direction to excise deputy commissioners, they have collected the data of the parlours and five-star hotels violating this directive. The Tamil Nadu government has moved the apex court seeking clarification. Though it considered the case of liquor outlets, the order made it clear that sale of alcohol is prohibited along the highways.
