The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh today upheld the Kerala Government’s liquor policy which was challenged as being discriminatory.

Justice Vikramajit Sen of the Supreme Court, who is retiring on 30 December, has told reporters that he would pronounce the verdict in the Kerala Bar licence case on or before the last day of his tenure.

The Supreme Court’s five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice JS Khehar is set to pronounce its consequential judgment in the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) case in the morning today (16 December) at Court No 3 at 10:30 AM

Should it be directed to the Government of India not to give permission to the Attorney General for India to appear for private parties against the state and its instrumentalities? This is the question which a Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy would be faced with, when a PIL seeking such a direction would be called for hearing before them.

Arguments in the Kerala liquor case Kerala Bar Hotels Association vs State of Kerala came to an end yesterday (August 27) at 12:30 pm after the bench comprising justices Vikramajit Sen and Shiva Kirti Singh heard as many as five counsel and reserved their judgment, while asking them to give the court written submissions, if any, during next week.

The Kerala Government’s senior counsel, Kapil Sibal, who resumed his arguments at 10.30 a.m. yesterday (August 25) in Court No.11 of the Supreme Court, completed his arguments at 2.30 p.m. As the justices Vikramajit Sen and Shiva Kirti Singh queried him about the basis of classification of four star and five star hotels for the purpose of grant of licences to the latter, Sibal asked what is so irrational about classification.

Yesterday (August 21) senior advocate Kapil Sibal continued his arguments before the Supreme Court bench hearing the challenges to the Kerala Government’s liquor policy, making it clear that he did not want to whittle down Article 14.

Yesterday (20 August), the petitioners in the ongoing Kerala Bar Hotels Association’s appeal against the Kerala high court’s decision approving the Kerala Government’s controversial liquor policy favouring the five-star hotels, concluded their arguments at Court No.11.

Arguments continued by the appellants in the Kerala liquor ban case Kerala Bar Hotels Association vs State of Kerala for the second day on August 18 in the Supreme Court’s Court No. 11, with senior advocates, Harish Salve and N Venkataraman making a determined attempt to expose the State Government’s “discriminatory” liquor policy.

Arguments in The Kerala Bar Hotels Association vs State of Kerala began with a lot of excitement on both sides last week before the bench of justices Viramajit Sen and Shiva Kirti Singh.