The Supreme Court has cautioned that a complete prohibition on alcohol can push the liquor trade underground and increase the circulation of unregulated and potentially lethal brews, while laying out a series of measures for states and Union territories to prevent recurring hooch tragedies.
A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran on Friday stressed that tackling spurious liquor required a coordinated approach involving police, excise, prohibition, transport and industries departments rather than isolated enforcement measures.
“History bears eloquent testimony to the fact that a complete alcohol ban often drives the liquor trade underground, increasing the prevalence of unregulated, lethal brews,” Justice Pardiwala observed in the judgment.
The court made the observations while quashing Rules 18A and 18B of the Maharashtra Poisons Rules, which had been introduced through a 2011 notification following a major hooch tragedy in Mumbai.
Break supply chain
The court’s suggestions focus on attacking both the supply and demand for illicit liquor and preventing chemicals used in spurious alcohol from being diverted from legitimate industrial channels.
Since liquor can be manufactured within a state as well as illegally transported from outside, the bench said stringent monitoring at state borders was essential.
“In this regard, the state transport department being vigilant at the borders would help control illegal transport of liquor in the state,” the verdict said.
The court also called for effective implementation of laws covering the procurement, manufacture, transportation, sale and consumption of liquor, saying enforcement across the entire chain could play a critical role in preventing hooch tragedies.
Target illegal breweries
The bench said state police should work closely with prohibition and excise departments to identify illegal breweries, which are often located in semi-industrial or congested urban areas.
“The state police, in coordination with the prohibition department and the excise department, respectively, can identify and bring to book local breweries,” the court said.
The judgment noted that chemical solvents used to manufacture spurious liquor are often illegally obtained from industrial units, making oversight of industries another important part of the enforcement architecture.
The industries department, it suggested, could monitor units manufacturing such chemicals and investigate whether solvents were being illegally supplied to illicit liquor producers.
Methanol under watch
The court placed particular emphasis on regulating methanol, a toxic industrial chemical whose diversion into illicit alcoholic drinks can cause poisoning, blindness and death.
It suggested that existing state rules regulating methanol should be strengthened, including provisions governing vehicles used for its transportation.
Vehicles involved in violations should not be released merely on the furnishing of a bond or surety and should remain detained until otherwise directed by a competent court, the bench suggested.
The court also called for methanol to be transported in dedicated tankers earmarked exclusively for the chemical. Such a system, it said, could reduce the possibility of pilferage or substitution during transportation.
Track every litre
Businesses and individuals licensed or permitted to deal in or consume methanol should be required to maintain detailed records of consumption and closing stocks, the court said.
Those records should be reconciled periodically so that discrepancies between opening stock, actual consumption and closing stock can be identified quickly.
Any unexplained or unaccounted shortfall should be flagged and investigated at the earliest, the bench said, creating a system through which authorities can detect possible diversion before the chemical reaches illegal liquor manufacturers.
The suggested mechanism effectively seeks to establish traceability throughout the methanol supply chain rather than relying only on enforcement after a poisoning incident has occurred.
Tougher licence regime
The Supreme Court also sought a comprehensive review of state rules governing licences and permits for methanol.
It said licences should not be issued routinely but only after proper verification of an applicant’s antecedents, credentials and genuine requirement for the chemical.
“Any person who is found to have defaulted or breached the conditions of the licence or permit, or the rules made thereunder, should be liable to have such licence or permit suspended or cancelled,” the verdict said.
Such violators should also be barred from receiving fresh licences or permits, it added.
The measures suggested by the court envisage a system in which transport authorities police state borders, excise and prohibition officials track illicit liquor networks, police act against illegal breweries and industries departments monitor the legitimate production and movement of chemicals that can be diverted.
By focusing on the entire chain — from industrial chemicals and transportation to illegal brewing and sale — the court underlined that preventing hooch deaths requires sustained regulatory coordination rather than action only after a tragedy has occurred.