# Supreme Court seeks CCI reply in Kerala liquor case

2026-08-13T10:02:29+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk

Corroboration: 2 independent outlets

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought the Competition Commission of India's response to an appeal by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies against the Kerala State Beverages Corporation. The industry body alleges KSBC has abused its dominant position by favouring state-owned Travancore Sugar and Chemicals Ltd, maker of Jawan Rum, through unilateral price fixing and discriminatory terms. The CCI had closed the case in 2021 for lack of evidence of abuse. The NCLAT upheld that decision in May 2026, ruling that the preference was state policy and had not harmed competition or consumer choice. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Sanjeev Sachdeva issued notice and listed the matter for September 23.

## Coverage

- barandbench.com <https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/plea-in-supreme-court-against-kerala-governments-preferential-treatment-of-jawan-rum>
- legal.economictimes.indiatimes.com <https://legal.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/litigation/sc-seeks-cci-response-in-kerala-state-beverages-corp-case/133229661>

Tags: Competition Commission, Jawan Rum, Kerala, KSBC, liquor policy, Supreme Court
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