Cuttack, April 23: The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) Club on the Barabati Stadium premises has been embroiled in a controversy for running a bar on the basis of an Indian Manufactured Foreign Liquor (IMFL) Club on licence.

While a public interest litigation (PIL), filed by social activist and president of the Odia Yuva Manch Rohan Mohanty, has sought cancellation of the licence, Orissa High Court has issued notice to the excise department secretary to file a reply.

The IMFL Club on licence was granted on an application by OCA secretary for grant of licence for retail selling of IMFL / Beer for consumption on the club premises.

The licence authorised the OCA secretary to set up and maintain one bar for the retail selling of portable foreign liquor at the club complex.

Mohanty alleged that running of the bar or retail sale of foreign liquor at the club violated the excise rules.

The excise rules prohibit sanction of retail sale of liquor near sports complex and schools. The club is located at a distance of around 200 metres from the St Xavier School inside the stadium precincts, Mohanty said, alleging that the IMFL Club on licence was sanctioned despite objection by the excise commissioner.

"The division bench of acting Chief Justice Pradip Mohanty and Justice Biswajit Mohanty, before which the petition came up yesterday, posted the matter to after two weeks for hearing, along with response from the Cuttack district magistrate and collector," petitioner counsel Kshirod Rout said today.

In his petition, Mohanty further contends that running of a bar or retail sale of foreign liquor at the club will have "adverse effect on the youngsters", who come to take part in sports events organised round the year in the stadium.

According to the petition, the association had built the club complex with 50 per cent funding from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after the Odisha Olympic Association (OOA) had sub-leased the land to it in 2001.

The state government had leased out 20.808 acres to the OOA in 1949 for promotion of sports.

Subsequently, Barabati Stadium came up on the land. The land was leased out on the condition that the OOA should not use it for any other purpose or transfer it.

Hence, sub-leasing the stadium galleries and its surroundings to the OCA is "illegal" and "violates the conditions of the lease", the petition alleged, seeking the high court's direction for a probe into it.

"The court also issued notices returnable within two weeks to the secretaries of the sports and youth services department, revenue department, OOA, OCA, Cuttack collector and district magistrate and the BCCI general secretary," the petitioner counsel said.

Chief minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated the OCA Club complex on April 1, 2013. Set up at a cost of Rs 34 crore, the state-of-the-art complex has a swimming-cum-diving pool, facilities for indoor games and 15 air-conditioned rooms.