HC tells govt to act against illegal pubs, bars in city

The high court on Thursday directed the government to act against pubs and bars in the city that are running without a licence.

A division bench led by Chief Justice Abhay S Oka issued the direction while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by the Indiranagar Residents’ Welfare Associations.

Senior counsel K G Raghavan contended that the Licensing and Controlling of Places of Public Entertainment (Bangalore City) Order-2005 was not followed in the city as residents of Indiranagar suffered because many pubs and bars in the area are operating even after midnight with loud music. The police have also failed to curb these illegal activities.

Advocate for Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Gururaj Joshi, submitted that the board had initiated the tender process to purchase 230 noise meters to be installed across the state. The process was challenged before a single-judge bench that dismissed the petition. The tender process will soon be completed, he added.

Additional government advocate Y H Vijay Kumar informed the court that the government has declared silence zones in the state following the court’s direction.