Kochi police book Radisson Blu over late-night party

Kochi police registered a case against Radisson Blu Hotel at Elamkulam on Saturday after an early-morning inspection uncovered alleged violations involving a DJ party and liquor service beyond authorised conditions.

The Kadavanthra police booked the hotel under Sections 55(h) and 56(b) of the Kerala Abkari Act following a search that began around 2 am on October 31 and continued for more than an hour. Officers seized electronic equipment used for the entertainment programme and documents connected with the event.

The first information report alleges that the party was promoted through advertisements encouraging alcohol consumption. Section 55(h) concerns advertisements soliciting or offering liquor or intoxicating drugs, while Section 56(b) deals with wilful breaches of licence or permit conditions. The allegations remain subject to investigation and judicial scrutiny.

Police examined customers who were at the bar during the operation and allowed them to leave. No arrests of patrons were confirmed in the initial account of the search. The precise quantity of liquor allegedly sold outside authorised conditions and the number of people attending the programme were not specified.

The inspection followed information that an entertainment programme was continuing after the permitted deadline. Officers reportedly entered the premises in plain clothes before examining activities at the venue. Separate accounts indicated that the DJ event continued until approximately 3 am, several hours beyond the 11 pm deadline imposed on such programmes in Kochi.

The case brings renewed attention to a dispute between the hotel and the city police over whether extended bar operating permission also permits late-night music events. That distinction has already been raised before the Kerala High Court in proceedings concerning restrictions on DJ programmes at the establishment.

Earlier this year, the hotel’s licensee challenged notices issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Police and the Kadavanthra Station House Officer restricting DJ events. The petitioner maintained that the Excise Department had authorised extended operations until 3 am and questioned the police restrictions on entertainment activities.

The police, responding to that challenge, argued that permission to serve liquor and meals during extended hours did not automatically confer an unrestricted right to organise amplified music events or large gatherings. They maintained that their powers to regulate public order and noise remained applicable regardless of the bar’s authorised operating hours.

That distinction is important to the latest allegations because a licence allowing a bar to remain open does not necessarily settle whether a DJ programme can continue throughout the same period. The exact scope of the hotel’s permissions, and whether particular conditions were breached during Saturday’s event, will be central to assessing the case.

Police had previously informed the High Court that restrictions on late-night DJ events were introduced after concerns about disorder, narcotics offences and disturbances associated with commercial entertainment programmes. Their submissions cited provisions of the Kerala Police Act governing public safety and the regulation of potentially disruptive gatherings.

The city’s police commissioner had also stated in a court affidavit that the number of commercial DJ venues in Kochi had grown from three to more than 34. Police cited 27 criminal cases connected with late-night events across the city, involving allegations ranging from unlawful assemblies to drug offences and crimes against women.

Those figures formed part of the police case for an 11 pm cut-off for DJ programmes, rather than a blanket prohibition on hotel bars operating under valid licences. The hotel had disputed the rationale for restricting entertainment at that hour while allowing other licensed activities to continue.

Saturday’s search therefore concerns a specific alleged breach rather than a determination of the wider legal dispute. Registration of a first information report begins a criminal investigation; it does not establish that the hotel or any person associated with its management has committed an offence.

Police have not publicly detailed any final findings from forensic examination of the seized electronic devices or the documents collected at the premises. Nor was an immediate response from the hotel’s management available in the accounts of the operation.

The search took place at the Radisson Blu property in Elamkulam, within the jurisdiction of Kadavanthra police station. Customers present when officers arrived were questioned at the premises before being permitted to depart, as officers recorded details of the overnight programme.