‘Very deceptive’: Supreme Court issues notice on liquor being sold in juice-like packaging

The CJI remarked that it’s “very deceptive.”

The plea said the sale of liquor in inconspicuous packaging has the potential to dramatically increase the public consumption of alcohol and stressed the need for standardisation and harmonisation of excise policies of different states regarding the bottling of liquor.

It said that the sale of liquor in such packages poses various risks, including consumption by juveniles, drinking in a moving vehicle, health risks, increased ease of smuggling, ease of public consumption, and environmental risks.

The plea also pointed out that cartons have attractive packaging with vivid colours, but do not have prominent health warnings like in the case of cigarettes, to dissuade people from drunken driving and responsible drinking. The warning, if any, is only in small fine print, which would be hardly visible to a consumer, Nair pointed out.

The names are misleading and use of fruit names alongside colour photographs of apples and mangoes on the packaging reinforces the deception, the petitioner said. It added that this reflects a deliberate marketing strategy to pass off alcoholic beverages as fruit juices, to evade scrutiny by the authorities and further target underage consumers.

CADD said that in India, the bottling of alcohol is regulated through excise Acts of the respective states and every excise Act has its own definition of “bottle” and invariably all excise legislations confer wide discretion on the excise authorities to permit various types of packages for liquor.

This discretion, the plea said, is not guided either by environmental or health concerns, adding that it appears that the only guiding factor for excise authorities is to increase the fiscal benefit for the state.

The plea contended that states have not been doing enough to formulate policies to minimise the hazards of public consumption of alcohol, nor is there any guidance from the Centre on this.

There is also the environmental harm caused by such packaging, the PIL said, adding it is nearly impossible to recycle these bottles, and there is no reason to encourage them apart from increasing revenues.

“As such, it is very important that such packaging is discouraged by the states and public health, and is not sacrificed at the altar of fiscal benefits. Since every state has its own policy for bottling, it is important for this Hon’ble Court to intervene and protect the fundamental rights of the citizens by banning the sale of alcohol in such inconspicuous packaging and laying down uniform and harmonious guidelines for excise authorities to regulate the bottling of alcohol, keeping in view public health and safety,” the petition said.