Madras HC bats for liquor prohibition in Tamil Nadu to 'wipe out tears of women, children'

In a key verdict, the Madras High Court appealed to the Tamil Nadu government to bring prohibition in the State in a phased manner to ameliorate the suffering of people. The division bench of the HC comprising Justices N Kirubakaran and B Pugalendhi was hearing a plea filed under Article 226 of the Constitution seeking the removal of a TASMAC shop situated in Thattankulam Main Road, Madurai. Accepting the contention of the petitioner that drunkards consume liquor sitting on both sides of the road and create nuisance, the bench directed the shifting of this shop to some far away place before February 28 citing the presence of a girls' school in the area.

However, the HC expanded the scope of the PIL asking the state government to file a compliance report regarding the number of TASMAC outlets in TN and the action taken on objections regarding the location of shops. Arguing for a ban on consumption of liquor in the State, it cited various judgments and academic articles to highlight the harmful effects for the society. For instance, it cited a study from NIMHANS in Karnataka that the government loses more than Rs. 2 in terms of health care expenses for every rupee it gets from alcohol. Moreover, it expressed shock at TN being the largest consumer of liquor in the country and the fact that 15 per cent of its revenue is from excise duty on liquor sales.

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'Every endeavour has to be made' 

Maintaining that drinking is the root cause of all evils, the bench mentioned that innumerable offences are committed against women and children daily owing to alcohol consumption. Additionally, it pointed out that drunken driving is one of the deadliest causes of accidents and questioned how people are allowed to ride vehicles after consuming liquor at TASMAC outlets. The HC stressed that every endeavour has to be made to discourage people in the state to drink. Noting that is the collective voice of "suffering of housewives, children and the entire society", it reckoned that introduction of prohibition will lead to a steep decrease in offences, an increase in income, an improvement in people'e health and reduction of deaths due to drunken driving. 

Read: TASMAC Directed By Madras HC To Sell Alcohol At MRP, Display Prices To Prevent Corruption

In paragraph 17 of the judgment, the court stated, "Though it is a difficult task, still every endeavour has to be made to discourage the people to drink and appeal to the Government to stop selling liquor. Therefore, this Court appeals to the State Government to bring prohibition in the State in a phased manner to wipe out the tears of women and children thereby safeguarding their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is not only the appeal of this Court but the collective voice of suffering of housewives, children and the entire society." 

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