Coimbatore, Feb 28 (PTI) The Coimbatore District Hoteliers Association Monday sought the support of police department to implement the recent judgement that the owners of eateries/ hotels/ restaurants are at liberty to fix closing timings on their own depending upon their convenience. In a recent judgement, the Madras High Court had held that police cannot decide the working hours of eateries and restaurants under the guise of law and order problems and also observed that it is the bounden duty of police authorities to provide appropriate protection to the eateries/ hotels/ restaurants, the association secretary M Shivakumar told reporters here. About 250 registered members are with our association and some thousands of hotel owners, with lakhs of employees in the district will get benefited if the recent judgement is implemented, he said. After two years of the pandemic and related lockdowns, this was the right time to get our business developed by extending hotel hours with the support of police and the state government, Shivakumar said. Justice Krishnan Ramasamy had pointed out that the police do not have the authority to shut eateries/ restaurants by citing law and order problems when they were not accorded such powers after the amendment to Section 35 vide Chennai City Police (Amendment) Act, 2007. The State government alone is empowered to fix opening and closing timings of eateries and hotels and to make rules thereof, the association quoting the judgement, said. PTI NVM SS SS