Beer and wine parlour owners in Kerala approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking exemption from its order banning liquor shops along highways.

The owners contended that they should be given permission to run outlets as they were not serving hard drinks.

The plea also said that the alcohol content in beer and wine was only 4-12%.

Around 80 beer and wine parlour outlets were affected by the SC order on April 1 banning sale of liquor along highways.

The case was mentioned before a vacation bench of justices R K Agrawal and Deepak Gupta for an early hearing, reports The Times of India. The court has posted the case to July after the summer recess.

The Supreme Court in December 2016 had directed shutting down of all liquor shops functioning within a 500-meter radius of state and national highways from April 1.

In a modification of the order on March 31, the court allowed liquor shops in small towns to operate 200 meters away from highways, provided the population of the settlement was 20,000 or less.

The ruling Left Democratic Front government in the state on June 9 had reversed the liquor policy, paving the way for reopening of closed bar outlets in hotels classified as three-star and above.

The policy was revised to save the tourism industry that had plunged into crisis, the government said.  

As per the revised policy, the liquor shops along the sides of highways that were closed after the SC order would be allowed to relocate in the same taluk.