KOCHI: The Union government on Tuesday opposed the previous LDF government’s order directing the excise commissioner to renew FL-3 (bar) licences of hotels that sought reclassification of their star ratings for 2026-27 and are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Tourism.
In an affidavit filed in the High Court, the Union government said pendency of an application on the NIDHI portal could not be treated as grant of classification or reclassification by the ministry or give rise to any presumption or inference of administrative inaction, negligence or delay on the ministry’s part.
The affidavit was filed in response to a petition by M M Sanjeev Kumar of Kollam, seeking a CBI probe into the procedure adopted by the then LDF government in February for the renewal of bar licences of hotels that did not obtain the mandatory star rating from the tourism ministry.