The Kerala High Court on Tuesday put on hold the operation of a State government order imposing a ‘dry day’ within a 5-km radius of the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border ahead of the Assembly polls in the neighbouring State on April 23.

A Vacation Bench of Justice S. Manu stayed the operation of the government order on the grounds that the State did not have the power to issue such a direction, a lawyer associated with the case said.

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The court said that under the Representation of the People Act, the prohibition on the sale of liquor can only be enforced within polling areas, while the State government order extended to places that were not close to any election area, the lawyer said.

The detailed order of the court has not yet been uploaded to the High Court’s website.

The order came on a plea by some Palakkad-based hotels challenging the government order prohibiting the sale of liquor in their establishments from April 21 until midnight on April 23.