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The submission was made in a counter affidavit filed in a PIL by M M Sanjeev Kumar of Kollam, who has sought a CBI probe into the procedure adopted by the previous LDF-led govt in Feb 2026 for renewing bar licences of hotels that had not secured the mandatory star classification from the ministry. Kumar alleged that the additional chief secretary of the taxes (G) department, through a communication dated Feb 13, directed the excise commissioner to renew FL-3 (bar) licences for the financial year 2026-27 in respect of hotels that had applied for reclassification of their star ratings and were awaiting approval. He contended that the communication violated Rule 13(3) of the foreign liquor rules, which makes a valid and subsisting star classification certificate issued by the tourism ministry a mandatory precondition for the grant or renewal of a bar licence. Responding to allegations of delays in processing reclassification applications, the ministry said its communication dated Feb 28, 2025, concerned only specific cases in which inspections had already been scheduled but were subsequently deferred or postponed at the request of the applicant hotels. 574 hotels in Keralam underwent on-site inspections between Jan 1, 2024, and the date of data compilation, according to the affidavit. As of Sept 30, 2026, there were 120 classification applications pending, 81 of them relating to the three-star category.
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Kochi: The Union ministry of tourism has told the Kerala high court that the mere pendency of an application for hotel classification or reclassification on its NIDHI portal cannot be treated as the grant of a valid classification, particularly when determining eligibility for bar licences. In its counter affidavit, the central govt clarified that although Keralam’s Abkari Act prescribes a valid classification by the ministry as an eligibility criterion, the requirement does not bind the ministry or oblige it to expedite its classification process. It rejected any suggestion that the communication generally attributed delays to the applicants. The ministry pointed out that the HRACC committee for one-star to three-star classifications is chaired by the state tourism secretary and that inspections are scheduled based on dates intimated by the state govt. The ministry further maintained that a pending application does not confer any provisional or interim classification status. It also denied any wilful laches on its part in processing the applications. Download the TOI App.