BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Thursday issued a notice to the state government over a public interest litigation questioning the licence granted to a liquor store ‘Tonique’, within the 100 metres prohibited area on Kasturba Road. Hearing the petition filed by advocate A V Amarnathan, the division bench of Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice M Nagaprasanna issued a notice to the Chief Secretary, Commissioners of Excise and BBMP, and Tonique.
The petitioner contended that Mahatma Gandhi had campaigned against alcohol but the excise department has granted license to open a liquor store within 100 metres radius of his statute. It is also quite close to a children’s amusement centre — Bal Bhavan, St Marks Church, and the office of the DCP on Kasturba Road. This is a violation of Karnataka Excise Licences (General Conditions) Rules, 1967, the petitioner said.
The petitioner has prayed the court to issue directions to the excise department and cancel the licence of liquor store. “The state government should punish the officials responsible for granting license,” the petitioner said.