Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has cleared the way for the e-auction of discontinued and unallotted liquor licences under the state’s amended excise rules.
A division bench set aside an earlier interim order from November 2025 that had paused the new rules. This decision now allows the government to move ahead with auctioning more than 500 licences, including retail shops and bar licences, which could generate around ₹1,000 crore in revenue.
The earlier stay had come after petitions from existing licence holders and their families, who argued that the new rules took away their right to renew licences and introduced unfair conditions.
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However, the High Court rejected these claims, stating that licence holders do not have an automatic right to renewal. It also upheld the government’s authority to frame rules, including provisions for e-auctions and reservation policies.
With this ruling, the Excise Department can now restart the auction process, which had been on hold since December 2025.
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