‘No ID, no entry’ rule raises questions by pub and bar owners in Karnataka about implementation, fake IDs

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Industry representatives said no formal training or operational guidelines have been issued to help staff implement the new measures. | Photo Credit: K Murali Kumar

Days after Karnataka’s Home Minister Priyank Kharge directed police to crack down on underage drinking, pub and bar owners across the State have welcomed the intent of stricter age-verification norms, but questioned how the new directive will be implemented, particularly in identifying forged documents and handling customer data.

On June 9, Director General and Inspector General of Police M.A. Saleem issued a detailed circular mandating stricter enforcement of age-verification norms at pubs, breweries, bars, clubs, lounges, restaurants, and all establishments serving liquor. The circular requires outlets to verify the age of patrons before granting entry, or serving alcohol, and mandates a strict ‘No ID, No Entry’ policy across Karnataka.

However, several industry stakeholders told The Hindu that while the rule itself is not new, there is little clarity on the operational aspects of enforcement.

“Nothing new has been introduced. The legal drinking age has been 21 years for as long as I can remember. What is confusing is the requirement regarding retention of ID copies. The circular mentions that IDs must be retained for inspection, but it is not clear whether establishments are expected to take photocopies or photographs. There are also concerns about whether customers would be comfortable with that,” Chethan Hegde, founder of 1522 Pub at Koramangala told The Hindu.

A manager at a pub in Bengaluru’s central business district said that the larger challenge lies in identifying fake IDs, particularly digital versions displayed on mobile phones. “Almost 30% of the Aadhaar cards we come across are edited or manipulated. Driving licences are comparatively harder to tamper with. Physical PAN cards are also easy to verify, but digital copies of documents can be problematic,” he said.

“As long as a document is shown on a