The Kerala High Court on Thursday said Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco), which runs retail liquor outlets, should implement the excise commissioner’s report to relocate 89 liquor outlets lacking basic facilities.
Considering a contempt of court petition on the issue of lack of basic facilities at liquor retail outlets, the court said the case has resulted in the court’s intervention to eliminate long queues in front of liquor outlets at a time when the state had not yet witnessed the third wave of COVID-19 pandemic. Otherwise, the state would have been sitting on a catastrophic time bomb by now, the court said.
Most of the outlets were upgraded recently and are equipped with sufficient facilities, Bevco claimed in court. However, Bevco’s claim invited criticism by the court, with the bench pointing out that the corporation may be the highest revenue-making industry in the state but it cannot gloat that it is the best. Even then, Bevco is bound by the directions issued by the concerned authorities, the court said.
However, short queues are still found in front of liquor outlets and the court expects Bevco to follow the instructions of the state government to reduce it, the bench said. During the hearing, a counsel representing Bevco submitted that basic facilities have already been provided at 27 of the 89 outlets identified in the excise commissioner’s report for relocating.
The court also added that Bevco cannot sit in judgment of the excise commissioner as it was a statutory authority. Asking Bevco to inform about the progress made, the court scheduled the case for a hearing on September 16th.
