The verdict would mean that only 62 bars from the original 750-odd bars would be allowed to function. The single bench of Justice Surendra Mohan did not specify a deadline for closure of the bars. The verdict was in response to the hearing of 82 petitions of bar hotel owners, questioning the new liquor policy of the state government.
The government had decided to close all the bars in the state with the exception of the ones functioning in five star hotels as part of its new liquor free policy which envisages complete prohibition in ten years.