Kochi: Kerala High Court on Monday asked the state government to submit the list of bar hotels whose licences have been either renewed or cancelled.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A.M. Shaffique passed the order while considering a plea filed by Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council seeking a directive to strictly implement the order to control sale of liquor in the state.
The petitioner argued that the government passed an order on April 2 renewing the licences to certain bar hotels without announcing the list of those bar hotels. Almost all the bar hotels are selling liquor even after the order as the names of the hotels are not mentioned in the order, the petitioner argued.
‘LNG terminal in two years’
The Indian Oil Corporation on Monday submitted before Kerala High Court that the proposed LNG terminal project will be completed by December 31, 2015.
The IOC made the submission on a plea seeking a directive to the IOC to take urgent steps for the functioning of the LNG terminal.
A division bench comprising Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Mohammed Mushtaq recorded the submission and closed the petition. The IOC submitted that it had signed an MoU with the Cochin Port Trust for the completion of a boat jetty at PuthuVypu on April 4.
HC stays DRI move
Kerala High Court on Monday stayed the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence move to invoke the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) against Hiromasa Sebastian and Rahila Cheerayi, the two accused in the gold smuggling case.
A division bench comprising Justice K.M. Joseph and Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar issued the directive after the accused moved the court against the DRI’s move.
Hiromasa and Rahila were arrested after they were found in possession of gold bars weighing three kilograms each when they landed at Karipur airport on November 8, 2013.
State views on solar sought
Kerala High Court on Monday asked the government to submit a statement regarding the probe into the solar scandal cases. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A.M. Shaffique passed the order while considering Opposition Leader V.S. Achuthanandan’s plea seeking a CBI probe into the solar cases. Advocate-General K.P. Dandapani submitted that the state has probed the matter in detail.
Apex court lawyer Sekhar Naphade appearing for VS argued that the company Team Solar was still not an accused in the case.Only if the company is an accused, the transaction happened in the case can be looked into. VS further argued that the Prevention of Corruption Act was not incorporated even after the politicians and government officials were named accused in the case.
