Park Hotel gets HC reprieve, guests allowed

Justice D. Murugesan, disposing of a writ petition from the Park Hotel management challenging the Police chief’s order, said this order would be treated as a show cause notice to the hotel. The Commissioner was entitled to issue fresh show-cause notices on or before October 5. The police chief shall consider the explanation given by the Hotel to the show-cause notice and pass orders within two weeks, the judge ruled.

On Thursday, a writ petition filed by the hotel management,the high court stayed the suspension order only in respect of guests staying in the hotel. The judge said the interim stay was only in respect of the 210 guests who should be allowed to remain till Saturday when the petition was be taken up for further hearing.

Two hotel staff, managers who were on duty during the Saturday night bash at the hotel when the pictures were taken by the Tamil Dailies’ photographers, were arrested on Tuesday night and let off on bail on Thursday.

While the city police chief passed the orders withdrawing licence to the hotel ostensibly because it did not possess the ‘public resort licence (which allowed large congregation) and ‘‘violated’’certain rules, the move came soon after the publication of the ‘party’ pictures in the Tamil Dailies.