Image: IANS
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Centre and other respondents on a plea seeking an immediate ban on the sale of alcohol in tetra packs and sachets, citing concerns over drunken driving and easy accessibility. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, agreed to hear the petition filed by the organisation ‘Community Against Drunken Driving’.Advocate Vipin Nair, appearing for the petitioner, argued before the court that the definition of a “bottle” under the excise regime remained “vague” and required standardisation.“They are confusing fruit juice with liquor. They use photo of apple and the pack contains Vodka,” he said, while stressing that the State has a responsibility to protect the health of citizens.The petition has sought directions to the Centre to formulate a uniform policy for all states and Union Territories and immediately prohibit the sale of alcohol in packaging formats such as tetra packs and sachets.“The state has a moral duty to raise nutrition, standard of living, improve health, but in this case it appears the state is only focussed on raising revenue by exposing the public to excessive use of alcohol especially the young. The state government is prioritizing revenue over public health,” said Prince Singhal, road safety expert and founder of Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD).“Selling alcohol in tetra packs is profitable to the producers due to lower cost of production, lesser wastage, easier portability. It is also beneficial to the government as it increases sale, is lucrative for the customer adding to the revenue. But in all this the populace is drinking more,” he added.The plea also sought directions to the Centre to frame a policy requiring states to amend their respective excise laws, rules and policies to adopt a uniform definition of “bottling”, restricting it to glass containers or other visibly distinguishable receptacles.
