PANJIM: While the newly-formed BJP-led government is looking at various possibilities to salvage the livelihood of thousands of Goans dependent on the liquor business, the All Goa Bar & Restaurant Owners Association will submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and all MLAs on Friday stating that they are exempted from the Supreme Court (SC) order.
Association’s legal representative Advocate Amit Palyekar said the memorandum will cite statements of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Advocate General of Goa Saresh Lotlikar that the SC order specifically applies to liquor shops and not to restaurants serving alcohol.
“Although the SC order does not clarify, the Attorney General and Goa AG are on record claiming that bars and restaurants do not come under the purview. We will submit a memorandum to all MLAs and the CM citing the same besides discussing other related points,” he told Herald. Lotlikar, in his opinion to the State Government, had said that bars and restaurants which serve liquor for consumption within the premises would not come under the ambit of the verdict. Then CM Laxmikant Parsekar had said that bar owners need not worry. In December last year, the SC ordered a ban on liquor vends located along and within 500 mtrs of National and State highways. It had called for the closure of such outlets in a bid to curtail rising incidents of drunken driving and accidents.
