Calcutta, Jan. 3: Three luxury hotels in Calcutta have found themselves in the crosshairs of a Supreme Court order to ban liquor sales along national and state highways from April.

Unless ongoing efforts to find a solution bear fruit before April 1, Hyatt Regency, JW Marriott and ITC Sonar cannot serve liquor as the properties are situated along Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, which is part of two state highways. The Gateway Hotel, a four-star property off the Bypass, is also covered by the order.

"No shop for sale of liquor shall be (i) visible from a national or state highway (ii) directly accessible from a national or state highway and (iii) situated within 500 metres of the outer edge of the national or state highway or a service lane along the highway," a Supreme Court bench, which included Chief Justice T.S. Thakur who retired today, had ruled last month.

The prohibition will include "stretches of such highways which fall within the limits of a municipal corporation, city, town or local authority", the court had said, directing states not to renew the liquor licences of such places after April 1, 2017.

Since the order refers to "licences for the sale of liquor", it will cover bars too.

According to the West Bengal Highway Development Corporation, a state government company, the stretch of the EM Bypass between Ultadanga and Dhapa is part of State Highway 3. The three luxury hotels are located on this stretch - a detail that had stayed under the radar in the immediate wake of the court order.

The PWD website shows this stretch as part of two state highways - State Highway 1 and 3. The Gateway is on what the PWD site calls State Highway 1.

According to sources, the stakeholders are exploring the possibility of denotifying EM Bypass as a state highway, which might help the bars get around the ban.

Food and beverages account for around 40 per cent of the revenues of star properties, which usually take several years to turn profitable. Given that investments of nearly Rs 3,000 crore have been pumped into the existing and upcoming addresses, any restraint on F&B sales is expected to considerably delay the payback period.

One of the hotels said it had not received any official notification while another said it would not comment on a "sensitive matter". A third said it had been seeking clarifications.

The Bengal government too will take a revenue hit when the court order comes into force.