- (1.)Leave granted.
(2.)This group of Civil Appeals raises the questions with respect to the legality and validity of two amendments introduced by the first Appellant-State of Kerala, in pursuance of its Abkari Policy framed in 2011-2012, in the Foreign Liquor Rules framed under the Kerala Abkari Act, since those amendments have been struck down as unconstitutional by the impugned judgment and order rendered by the High Court of Kerala.
(3.)Rule 13 of the Foreign Liquor Rules governs the grant of licences for the sale of the Indian Manufactured Foreign Liquor ('IMFL' for short). The two amendments which are disputed are as follows:
(i) Firstly, the words three star' were omitted from Rule 13(3) of these rules by Government of Kerala by issuing notification dated 9.12.2011. Consequently, after this amendment of the rule which has come into force immediately, three star hotels not already having a licence, will not be eligible to get a bar licence for retail sale of liquor in the hotels. Thus, no new hotels having the three star classification will be issued the licence known as FL-3 licence for selling the IMFL. The hotels having the two star or lesser classification are already ineligible to get this licence by virtue of the pre-existing proviso to Rule 13(3), introduced by notification dated 20.12.2002.

(ii) Secondly, Rule (3E) has been added in this Rule 13 w.e.f. 27.3.2012 by issuing a notification of even date, whereby no new bar hotels of any classification will be permitted to be opened (a) if they are situated within a distance of 3 kms. from existing bar hotels in a panchayat area, and (b) within a distance of 1 km. from existing bar hotels in a municipal area.