'Verify Age When Person Appearing To Be Under 30 Buys Liquor' : Plea In Supreme Court To Tackle Drunk Driving, Alcohol-Related Crimes

The Supreme Court today issued notice to the Union of India on a public interest litigation seeking implementation of a robust policy for mandatory age verification system at all points of alcohol sale.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan passed the order, upon hearing Senior Advocate PB Suresh, who argued that under-age drinking is very rampant in India and there is no robust system in place.

During the hearing, Suresh submitted that there is no appropriate deterrence against under-age persons purchasing alcohol for consumption. He pointed out that there are now even options for door-step delivery of alcohol.

Initially, the bench commented that people can even send someone else on their behalf (say, a domestic help), or purchase in somebody else's name. In reply, Suresh said that atleast regulation should be made tougher, considering that situation is particularly alarming in India and increased criminal incidents (in drunken state) are attributable to young adults/teenagers.

Ultimately, the bench issued notice restricted to the Union, even though all states/UTs were made party.

Briefly stated, the PIL has been filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD) seeking redressal of the growing concerns of underage drinking and alcohol-related accidents. The petitioner aims at creation of a uniform framework for alcohol regulation across states, which would reduce and prevent increasing incidents of drunk driving.

The PIL highlights a disparity in legal drinking age across different states in India. It mentions that while Goa permits alcohol consumption from the age of 18, Delhi maintains a higher threshold at 25 years. This variation extends to other states as well - Maharashtra prescribes 25 years, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu allow drinking at 18.

Further, the petition alleges a correlation between underage drinking and criminal behavior. According to studies cited in the PIL, early exposure to alcohol significantly increases the risk of violent offenses including robbery, sexual assault, and homicide. 

In this context, reference has been made to the recent Pune car accident case where two young individuals lost their lives, reportedly due to a minor driving under the influence of alcohol.

The petition emphasizes that approximately 42.3% of boys in the age group of 18-25 years had their first alcoholic drink before turning 18, and 90% of them could freely procure alcohol from vendors without any age verification.

The petition has been filed through Advocate-on-Record Vipin Nair.

Suggestions made by the petitioner :

1. The implementation of mandatory age check should be applied to all liquor-selling outlets (liquor vends, hotels, clubs, bars, pubs, Food, and beverage outlets) wherein the age of any person who appears to be below the age of 30 should be checked with the help of a biometrics age match using a government issued Identity card i.e., Aadhaar card/ election I-card or any other. This should be implemented through linking with the UID server.

2. The Excise Act /Policy should empower all alcohol selling outlets (liquor vends, hotels, clubs, bars, pubs, food, and beverage outlets) to mandatorily check age proof (Aadhaar card/ election I card or any other) of any customer appearing in the age below 30 years in case of doubt to successfully implement drinking age legislation of the state.

3. The Host of a party (an individual or an establishment) should also be held liable if;

i. Any underage person consumes alcohol in the said establishment or gathering;

ii. Any untoward incident like brawl, drunk driving accident / death is caused by any person below or above the age of 25 years in the said establishment or gathering;

iii. Adult / proxy buyer buying alcohol for a minor.

The Petitioner also suggests the following to enable the formation of a policy on mandatory age check verification at points of sale of alcohol:

1. To make it convenient to implement this law, photo Identity cards of any buyer/ consumer who appear to be in the age below 25 years should be checked since the legal drinking age in many states and UT's is between 18 -25 years ;

2. To ensure that the law is implemented at bars, pubs, clubs' hotels, liquor vends and any other F&B outlets they should be mandated to keep a record through a portable Aadhaar-checking machine;

3. Punishment for underage consumers / buyers with fine up to Rs.10,000/- Rupees or more as deemed suitable;

4. Fines for proxy adult buyers who consume/Procure/buy/provide alcohol for underage Rs.10,000/-;

5. Sale of alcohol to underage consumers should be considered a licensee Violation;

6. Fines may also be framed for individuals like bartenders, shop keepers and others who sell to minors;

7. Fines for establishment selling alcohol to underage of Rs. 50,000/- or 3 months jail or both. License cancellation if 3 times an establishment violates the law;

8. Regular checks by Excise departments at outlets to check that underage drinking does not occur.

Case Title: COMMUNITY AGAINST DRUNKEN DRIVING Versus THE UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., Diary No. 29463-2024