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Reduction In Minimum Drinking Age Has No Connection With Drunken Driving: Delhi Govt Argues Before High Court
Akshita Saxena
24 Aug 2021 1:30 PM IST
The Delhi Government today argued before the High Court that its decision to reduce the minimum age for consuming liquor in the national capital has no connection with the offence of drunken driving."Drunken driving is not permissible in law. So whether the minimum age is 21 or 25, it doesn't matter," Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra said.A Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh...
The Delhi Government today argued before the High Court that its decision to reduce the minimum age for consuming liquor in the national capital has no connection with the offence of drunken driving.
"Drunken driving is not permissible in law. So whether the minimum age is 21 or 25, it doesn't matter," Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra said.
A Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh was hearing a petition challenging Delhi Excise Policy 2021 insofar as it reduces the minimum age for consumption of liquor in the national capital from 25 to 21, to bring it at par with the prescribed age in the neighboring State of UP, etc.
The petition has been filed by 'Community Against Drunken Driving' through Advocate Prasanna S.
At the outset, the Court inquired from the Respondent what is the purpose behind reducing the minimum age. To this, Mehra responded that all the states neighboring Delhi have minimum drinking age of 21 years. So the idea was to bring parity.
Senior Advocate Dr. AM Singhvi, also appearing for the Respondents, submitted,
"Nobody in his right mind supports drunken driving. Reducing the age limit does not mean we are permitting drunken driving. Even a person aged 50 can't do it. There are very strict laws against it."
He added that the minimum age for voting in India is 18 years and to say that a person can choose to vote but not drink is like "living in ivory towers".
After hearing both the sides, the Court posted the plea on 17th September when a batch of petitions challenging the Delhi Government's New Excise Policy are listed.
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An NGO namely All India Bhrashtachar Virodhi Morcha has also moved the High Court challenging the reduction in minimum drinking age. It says, "Reducing the age for consumption of liquor is going to increase alcoholism amongst the students and younger generation of the society." It further highlights that the decision is contrary to Article 47 of the Constitution which prescribes that the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks which are injurious to health.
Interestingly, in September 2019, the Delhi High Court had ruled that there is a "wrong notion" that the minimum prescribed age for drinking liquor is 25 years under the Delhi Excise Act which only prohibits its sale to people below that age.
"The age of drinking has nothing to do with the prohibition imposed by the Delhi government under the Excise Act. We see no reason to quash Section 23 of the Act which prohibits a licensee to sell or deliver liquor to a person of less than 25 years of age," a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and C Hari Shankar had said.
Case Title: Community Against Drunken Driving v. GNCTD
