HC addresses the Issue of underage Drinking and directs the State Government to sell Indian made Foreign Alcohol to licensed Customers only

 

The Madras High Court disposed of a couple of writ petitions addressing the issue of unregulated alcohol consumption in the state of Tamil Nadu. The High Court directed the state government to strictly impose the business hours provided in the relevant statute along with making sure that the liquor is sold to licensed customers only with a strict ban on underage drinking.

Brief Facts:

The Madras High Court received two writ petitions regarding the issue of unregulated alcohol consumption. In both the writ petitions as well as miscellaneous petitions, the petitioners have sought the following directions to the respondent authorities:

1. to curtail the business hours during which liquor is being sold by the retail outlets established by TASMAC,
2. to prohibit the sale of liquor to those who are below 21 years of age,
3. to print labels on all liquor bottles in Tamil with respect to warnings, etc., display boards in Tamil with price list and contact details of higher officials to submit complaints and issue receipts, and to ensure the compliance of the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 qua printing the name of liquor, ingredients, quality, purity, standard, grade, etc., on label of the bottles of liquor in Tamil, and
4. to bring in place a licensing system for sale of liquor on par with the other countries.

Observations of the Court:

The court observed the importance of Article 47 of the Indian Constitution in light of the Supreme Court decision in State of A.P. v. McDowell & Co., [(1996) 3 SCC 709] wherein it the importance of Article 47 was discussed which imposes a duty on the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health, in particular, the State is required take endeavour in bringing about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health. Further, Rule 11-A of the Tamil Nadu Liquor Vending (in shops and Bars) Rules, 2003, was acknowledged which prohibits underage drinking by providing that liquor is not to be sold to persons who have not completed 21 years of age. 

 

As far as labelling requirements were concerned, the court cited part 5 of the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018 which governs the labeling requirements for alcoholic beverages (both distilled and undistilled). These regulations were acknowledged in addition to the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011. The central regulations also provide for printing the labels in the local or regional languages and hence, there is no statutory prohibition for the state Government to consider the same.

The court held that despite the presence of a penal provision under section 188 IPC, for selling liquor to underage drinkers and consumption of alcohol by the underage drinkers, such as, registration of FIR against concerned TASMAC salesman, supervisor and District Manager, etc. - those who are below 21 years consume alcohol. The court said that it is a state of worry that no effective action has been taken by the authorities concerned against such violators, according to law and no regulations have been strictly followed in respect of sale of liquor, label specification, etc. That apart, the harmful use of alcohol has a direct impact on many health-related targets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) specifically those related to maternal and child health, infectious diseases, non-communicable diseases and mental health, which calls for licensing system on par with the other countries.

While discussing the aforementioned pertinent issues, the court observed that the Government cannot be interfered with however, some suggestions and directions can be given in light of larger public interest. Thus, the court issued the following directions:

 

1. The central Government may take into consideration and give instructions to the State of Tamil Nadu and Director General of Police to impose a licensing regime for sale, purchase and usage of Indian Made Foreign Liquor.
2. The State Government shall give necessary instructions to the retail outlet shops through TASMAC that only the consumer, who has an alcohol license, can be permitted to buy Indian Made Foreign Liquor.
3. The labelling requirements under the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018 and the Food Safety and Standards (Packing and Labelling) Regulations, 2011 shall be strictly complied with.
4. The state government shall also consider printing the labels, displaying price list and contact details for registering complaints in Tamil.
5. The state government and TASMAC shall ensure the strict compliance of the regulations relating to management and administration of staff, etc.
6. The state Government shall ensure that liquor is not sold to persons below 21 years of age.
7. The state government and the TASMAC may consider reducing the business hours i.e., between 2.00 PM and 8.00 P.M. considering the public health and welfare.

Decision of the Court:

Both the writ petitions and connected miscellaneous petitions were disposed of, in the above terms.

Case Title: 1) B. Ramkumar Adityan vs. Additional Chief Secretary and 4 others 

 

2) K.K. Ramesh vs. Union of India and 3 others

Coram: Justice R. Mahadevan and Justice Sathya Narayana Prasad

Case No.: WP (MD) Nos. 2543 & 5654 of 2019

 

Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Karthick Subramanian (for 1^st writ) and Petitioner-in-person (for 2^nd writ)

Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. R. Baskaran (for 1^st writ) and Mr. P Subbiah (for 2^nd writ)

Read Judgment ;

 

 

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