SC Affirms States’ Authority To Regulate Industrial Alcohol
By interpreting ‘intoxicating liquor’ to encompass industrial alcohol, the Apex Court overturned a previous judgment that had favored the Centre’s control over this sector
SC Affirms States’ Authority To Regulate Industrial Alcohol
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held the states have regulatory power over production, manufacture and supply of industrial alcohol.
In a 8:1 majority ruling, the top court held that the phrase “intoxicating liquor” in Entry 8 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution would include industrial alcohol within its ambit. The majority bench comprised Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma and Augustine George Masih, Justice BV Nagarathna, however, dissented and held states did not have the legislative competence to regulate industrial alcohol or denatured spirit.
The apex court’s majority verdict overturned its 1990 seven-judge bench judgment in Synthetics & Chemicals Ltd. v. State of Uttar Pradesh holding that Centre had the regulatory power over the production of industrial alcohol. Ethyl alcohol (which has 95 per cent ethanol) is an industrial form of alcohol and unfit for human consumption.
The CJI, who authored the majority verdict, also writing on behalf of the seven judges, said Entry 8 sought to regulate everything from “raw materials to production of intoxicating liquor”.
