Bangalore:
The excise commissioner filed an affidavit in the high court on Friday, claiming that all necessary action was being taken to prevent the illegal sale of liquor in Bangalore.
A public interest litigation seeking strict implementation of the Excise Act was filed by Bhavani Ram Prasad and Manjula Bhavani, residents of the city, who had contended that the state government had done little to penalise hotels and dhabas serving liquor without the necessary licence.
The petitioners said that Section 15A of the Excise Act disallows dhabas and restaurants from selling liquor; these places can only serve liquor to customers, if they are licenced to do so.
Also, wine shops are licenced to sell liquor, and not to allow its consumption in the premises. The division bench comprising chief justice JS Khehar and justice AS Bopanna disposed the case on Friday.
However, they also granted the petitioners the liberty to approach the high court again in six months if illegal sale of liquor continues.
In the last hearing of this case on October 27, the excise commissioner was severely reprimanded by the judges. At that time, chief justice JS Khehar and justice AS Bopanna had said, "What is the excise commissioner doing? If the commissioner is not discharging his duties well, he does not deserve the post. We will take action against him."
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