The circular was issued on Sunday by Additional Excise Commissioner Jayashankar, who is holding charge as Excise Commissioner, on the government’s instructions. It follows the transfer of Commissioner Seeram Sambasiva Rao and the suspension of two Deputy Excise Commissioners over licences granted before the policy was finalised.
The government faces a November 30 deadline set by the Kerala High Court to formulate the policy. More than 21 licence applications are currently pending before the administration across different categories of establishments, making the written restriction immediately relevant to hotels and other establishments awaiting decisions.
Excise Minister M Liju had maintained that no fresh bar licences should be granted until the UDF administration adopted its policy. However, the controversy exposed disagreement over whether that position had been communicated through a binding written instruction applicable to licensing officers.
Rao defended the approvals, arguing that they complied with the rules then in force. The two suspended Deputy Commissioners similarly maintained that their decisions were taken under existing provisions. The government’s new circular now explicitly directs officials to defer fresh approvals, removing that particular uncertainty for pending applications.
The dispute intensified after three beer-and-wine parlours in Muvattupuzha, Kochi and Pala were permitted to operate as full bars. Ernakulam Deputy Commissioner P K Satheesh and Pathanamthitta Deputy Commissioner P L Shibu, who also held charge of Kottayam district, were suspended following the minister’s intervention.
The establishments had sought conversion under provisions introduced during the previous Left Democratic Front administration, which allowed eligible parlours to obtain bar licences after securing the prescribed hotel classification. The minister questioned why the approvals had been processed without bringing them to the government’s attention.
Applications relating to the Muvattupuzha and Kochi establishments were approved in June, while the Pala application was cleared in October. The speed of some approvals also drew criticism from Liju, who questioned a framework under which an establishment could secure permission within a day of applying.
A separate disagreement concerned FL-7 licences issued for airport lounges at Kochi’s Nedumbassery airport. Rao maintained that the licences were authorised under existing rules and that the facilities were intended for air passengers. Liju said the commissioner should have consulted the government before exercising those powers.
The minister pointed to an application that had been referred to the government and returned with instructions to await the new policy. Rao disputed the suggestion that he had knowingly disregarded the administration’s position, saying he had acted within his statutory authority.
Rao was relieved of the commissioner’s charge on Friday under an order issued by the General Administration Department. He was posted as Special Secretary in the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Department, with additional charge of the Backward Classes Development Department.
Liju described the transfer as an administrative decision rather than a punitive measure linked to his dissatisfaction with the commissioner. The timing nevertheless placed it alongside the widening dispute over the exercise of licensing powers and the government’s oversight of approvals.
The suspended Deputy Commissioners challenged the action before the State Administrative Tribunal. Their requests for an immediate stay were rejected, with the petitions listed for further hearing on November 12. The tribunal’s refusal to grant interim relief did not amount to a final determination of the officers’ arguments.
(The article ‘Freeze on new bar licences’ appeared first on Free Press Journal.)
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