A public interest litigation (PIL) challenging a government order granting and renewing bar licences in the State was filed before the Kerala High Court.

The State had directed that hotels that had applied for the renewal of their star rating should also be granted renewals of their bar licences. The PIL, filed by M.M. Sanjeev Kumar from Kollam, contended that the order was illegal and claimed that there is a “deep-rooted criminal conspiracy” in the directive.

He further argued that State officials and the hotel lobby had colluded to get the order issued.

The petition stated that, under the Foreign Liquor Rules, bar licences should be granted only to hotels with a three-star classification or above to ensure standards of quality and hygiene.

Moreover, the petition alleged that the direction issued by the Taxes Department was contrary to an earlier order, which had instructed officers not to entertain any application for the renewal of a bar licence without a valid and subsisting star classification certificate.

The petition sought to quash the order and requested an impartial CBI investigation into the alleged conspiracy.