[Current Affairs] Liquor Policy - Kerala, Mizoram and National Police Academy

Current Affairs

Liquor Policy – Kerala, Mizoram & IPS Training Academy

Synopsis:

(01) Why in News?

(02) Mizoram Case

(03) Kerala Case

(04) IPS Training Academy Case

(01) Why in News?:

            Recently Liquor ban and Liquor permit was made into news headlines. But Liquor ban by Kerala was alone highlighted. But one state lifted the ban and also one National Academy institution put the ban. These two news was made ‘silent’ in our so called fourth pillar of democracy.

(02) Mizoram Case:

·        1995: Mizoram passed law to completely ban liquor.

·        But later Government feels that “total” prohibition has harmed the state- because people still drinking liquor and dying because of hooch (illegal).

·        2014: new Act - lifts “total” prohibition from the state.

·        Now anyone above 21 years can drink- both local as well as foreign liquor. But he’ll need permit.

·        New act raised fines and jail-terms for all type of drinking related offences.

·        Any citizen can arrest drunkards but they have to hand them over to police or Excise and Narcotics officials.

(02) Kerala Case:

·        New liquor policy to apply total prohibition within 10 years in phased manner

·        Anyways, under this policy, State Government planned to cancel bar licences of all hotels below the category of five-star (from September 12, 2014 onwards).

·        Obviously, those bar owners did not like it. So they went to HC and then to SC.

Anti – Government Arguments	Pro Arguments
Individual discipline and not State discipline is what required	Kerala has highest per capita consumption of liquor – due to this families are broken, household savings are eroded
The policy will also affect state income and tourism industry (lakhs of people employed directly and indirectly) {same said by Congress leader Sashi Tahroor (UN return)}	Constitution does not provide any Fundamental Right to sell liquor to those bar owners. Yet they were given only licenses and the State has right to cancel licenses.
	Liquor is outside the purview of Article 19
	State has power to impose restriction on liquor trade, or create its own agency to sell liquor. This does not violate Article 14.

SC stayed the govt. order because of following reasons:

·        Flaw in the policy- drunkards can still go to five star hotels!

·        Policy is discriminatory and against constitutional right of equality – if state wants to impose prohibition then ban should be equally imposed on all the liquor selling shops- irrespective of stars.

·        Only 10% of the govt. outlet will be closed every year.

·        Govt. should educate the mass against harmful effects of liquor before the sudden and outright ban on the small liquor shop.

·        All the arguments made in SC are summarized. For more [Click Here]

(03) IPS training academy issue:

·        SVPNPA = Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy = place where IPS probationers are trained.

·        Recently a trainee IPS died after drowning in the swimming pool, under the influence of liquor.

·        Therefore, Director has banned all types of liquor in the academy.

·        Aruna Bahuguna: first lady director of SVPNPA, Hyderabad.

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