SC finds 'no merit' in plea seeking prohibition of liquor

The Supreme Court has found 'no merit' in a plea seeking prohibition of liquor across the country claiming that it caused death, health problems, rise in crime graph and financial loss to the people.
The top court rejected the plea and also imposed Rs 1 lakh as costs on the petitioner NGO Chaitanya Sravanthi, a Vishakhapatnam-based organisation .
A bench of justices R F Nariman and Navin Sinha said that their was 'no merit' in the plea and it was dismissed with the costs to be deposited with the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee within four weeks.
Advocate Sravan Kumar, appearing for the petitioner, said that the court should also direct an audit of the manufacture, distribution, supply, sale and consumption of various types of liquor in the country.

He said that the ill-effects of consumption alcoholic bevarages were contrary to the Right to Life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution, besides being contrary to the fundamental principles of governance under Article 37 and 47 of the Directive Principles of State Policy.
The plea also sought an action plan with regard to creation of awareness on the ill-effects of consumption of liquor and stringent action against the suppliers of alchoholic bevarages by strengthening the investigative mechanism, besides seizure and confiscation of stocks.

"The availability and access to liquor have deleterious effects on both physical and psychological well-being of individual, besides having serious societal implications," it said, adding that the free availability of liquor was correlated to crime, accidents and fatalities.

It also sought a direction for a review of the regulation policy for the manufacture, supply and sale of liquor in various states for the purpose of bringing about uniformity.
The plea also sought strict implementation of restrictions and regulations on sale of liquor to minor, setting up of liquor shops near schools and temples and conduct of awareness campaign regarding ill-affects of liquor at par with that for tobacco.