HC not to interfere in policy decisions

Kochi: The High Court on Monday observed that it has no jurisdictional power to interfere with the government’s decision on the new liquor policy.

The court made the observation while considering a batch ofwrit petitions filed by three bar owners challenging the new liquor policy. Justice C.T. Ravikumar considered the case but refused to pass any interim order and posted the case to Tuesday to enable the government to inform the court about the modalities.

When a counsel for a hotelier said that the decision would affect the tourism industry, the court said the government could not provide all that a tourist would like to enjoy. The tourists might have their own desires, which the government could not allow in the cultural milieu of the State.

The petitioners contended that the order of the government was mala fide and issued without proper application of mind. It was based on irrelevant and extraneous considerations and for getting political mileage. Even assuming that the government had the right to evolve a new policy, it could not be implemented in an arbitrary manner, detrimental to the interests of existing licensees.

They said that the policy had not been made applicable to bars functioning in clubs. They contended that implementation of the policy would lead to bootlegging.