Plea to reduce alcohol drinking age not in public interest: Govt

NEWDELHI: Defending its decision of not serving liquor to people below the age of 25, the Delhi government has informed the Delhi High Court that the challenge to the minimum age for consuming alcohol in the national Capital is “unfounded” as it is a policy decision and cannot be subjected to judicial review.

The Delhi government’s submission to the court came in response to a plea filed by Kush Kalra, who had sought directions to the authorities to bring down the legal age of drinking liquor in Delhi to 25 years as “it is discrimi- nation to Delhi residents in comparison to the citizens of other states”.

Reiterating the settled position in law that alcohol is obnoxious and injurious to health and general welfare of public, the government said in its affidavit that the petition cannot claimed to be in the “public interest” as it clearly seeks to encourage drinking and hence is not maintainable.

The government also said that the petitioner is 30-year-old and hence does not have a locus in filing the petition. “The petitioner has failed to demonstrate on record violation of his own interests and/or rights or the same of any other persons,” the affidavit read, adding that it was nothing more than “proxy litigation”.

The PIL filed through advocate Charu Wali Khanna said that several other states have a lower age for drinking in comparison to Delhi. It stated that in UP, the legal age for drinking is 21 years, in Rajasthan, the age is 18, in Goa, it is 21. It claimed that young people from Delhi travel to other states that have lower legal age to consume liquor.

The petition also claimed that 67% of the people in the age group of 18-25 years, purchased alcohol from liquor vends but were never asked for age proof, which has a “corrosive effect on respect for the law”.