Kerala High Court slaps Rs 50,000 fine for liquor home delivery

NEW DELHI: The Kerala High Court on Friday rejected a petition, seeking to direct liquor companies to home deliver liquor to check the spread of corona in the state, and slapped the petitioner with a Rs 50,000 fine for filing a frivolous petition like this when court staff were working to dispense justice at the risk of exposure to the virus.

A single judge slapped the costs which have to be deposited with the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund within two weeks. The petitioner had pointed out that the queues in the liquor vends were long and that was exposing them to the risk of catching the virus.

This could be eliminated by directing the liquor companies to home deliver the stuff, petitioner Jyotish said. Under attack from the court, the petitioner, through his lawyer, tried to withdraw his plea but did not succeed. The court said that it was determined to slap exemplary costs on him for reducing the court’s functioning during a crisis to a “mockery”. In his order, Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar lamented the selfishness of the petitioner and other like him who “obsessed with their perceived rights”.