LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday dismissed a petition seeking ban on the sale of liquor, except for the religious events of minorities. The single bench comprising Justice Shams Mehmood Mirza dismissed the petition for not being maintainable. The court had reserved the verdict on maintainability of the petition and it was announced on Thursday. The petition was filed by Irfan Ali, stating that as per law, liquor could be sold to non-Muslims at their religious events. However, certain hotels were selling it throughout the year, he added. He submitted that there was no provision under Section 17 of the Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979 which allowed issuance of licences to any hotel or other shop owners to operate throughout the year. However, he stated, hotels were selling liquor throughout the year in contravention of the provision as well as the terms of their licence. He pleaded with the court to issue directions for imposing a ban on sale of liquor, except for religious events of minorities.