Thiruvananthapuram: The UDF government has put itself in a political quandary by defending in the High Court the previous government's controversial decision to renew bar licences for hotels that had failed to renew their star classification.

The LDF government had renewed licences for around 200 bars, citing delays in reclassification inspections by the Union Tourism Ministry. The move had drawn sharp criticism from the Congress at the time.

Excise Minister M Liju, however, said the Union ministry had informed the state government in a letter that the reclassification process was delayed owing to the large number of applications, logistical difficulties and workload. He maintained that the government's position was not to grant licences to establishments whose star classification had been rejected by the ministry. Hotel owners, he argued, could not be held responsible for delays when officials failed to turn up for inspections even months after applications had been submitted.

Under the existing liquor policy, only hotels classified as three-star establishments or above by the Union Tourism Ministry are eligible for bar licences, which have to be renewed every five years. During the Covid pandemic, when classification inspections were suspended, the government allowed bar licences to be renewed even for hotels whose star classification had not been renewed. The relaxation continued even after the pandemic.

In a letter to the Excise Commissioner dated February 28, 2025, the regional director of the Union Tourism Ministry pointed out that hotel owners had repeatedly sought postponement of inspections, citing various reasons whenever dates were communicated to them. Despite this, the government renewed bar licences in both 2025 and 2026. The decision had drawn sharp criticism from the Congress during the previous election campaign, with AICC general secretary K C Venugopal and other leaders describing it as the biggest organised corruption scandal Kerala had ever witnessed.

The UDF government is now defending the renewals before the High Court in an affidavit filed on September 29 in response to a public interest litigation challenging the decision. It cited delays in inspections by the Union Tourism Ministry as the reason for the relaxation.

The ministry recently wrote to the state government, pointing out the large number of applications from Keralam and suggesting that a system be put in place within the state to handle the renewal of hotel classifications.

Excise Department withdraws airport bar approval
Meanwhile, the Excise Department has revoked the approval granted by former Excise Commissioner Sriram Sambasiva Rao for issuing an FL7 licence to the lounge bar at Cochin International Airport. The approval, granted to applicant George Dominic on October 12, was revoked by Additional Commissioner R Jayasankar, who is currently holding charge as Excise Commissioner.

Though the applicant had paid a licence fee of ₹2 lakh, the licence was never issued. The amount will now be refunded in keeping with the government's decision not to issue any licences until a new liquor policy is announced.

In his explanation to the government, Sambasiva Rao said the application had not been kept pending because the facility was intended exclusively for air passengers. He maintained that the approval had been granted in accordance with the existing rules.

Vigilance probe into bar licences
The Excise Department will soon recommend a Vigilance probe into the issuance of all bar licences over the past six months and the allegations raised in a letter by former Excise Commissioner Sriram Sambasiva Rao. Excise Minister M Liju has directed officials to prepare the file for initiating the inquiry.