Cuttack: Orissa high court has dismissed public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the opening of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) retail off shops in Chikiti in Ganjam district and Puri, ruling that objections filed after the prescribed deadline cannot be entertained under the Odisha Excise Rules, 2017.A division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo passed separate but identical orders on two PILs on Oct 15. The orders were uploaded online on Oct 18.In the Chikiti case, local resident Trigunateeta Deb challenged the location of a liquor shop, alleging that it was situated close to a temple, a school and other public institutions. The petitioner contended that the outlet violated provisions of the Odisha Excise Act, 2008, and the rules framed under it, and sought cancellation of the licence granted to the shop. In the Puri case, local resident Tapan Kumar Das and two others also challenged the location of a liquor shop on the same grounds.However, the bench noted that the objection was submitted to the authorities long after the licence had been granted and the shop had opened. It held that the statutory procedure for inviting objections had already run its course, leaving no scope for entertaining belated representations.