JUDGMENT :

Manikumar, J.

Petitioners are members of the Kerala Prohibition Council, Gandhi Bhavan, Kochi, a voluntary movement, striving to thwart the menace of alcoholism in the people of Kerala, and urging the State, to implement Prohibition, in tune with Articles 37 and 47 of the Constitution of India.

2. According to the petitioners since its inception in 1978, the Kerala Prohibition Council has put in great efforts to propagate the idea of prohibition; to persuade people with drinking habits to give up that habit; to provide counselling and treatment to alcoholics; to provide consolation and relief to the suffering families of alcoholics; and to create awareness amongst students and youths about the ill effects of consumption of liquor and the use of drugs. The organization has a State Committee with district, taluk and unit committees under it.

3. The petitioners have been volunteering for the Kerala State Prohibition Council for more than two decades. They have direct knowledge about the issues relating to Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD-alcoholism) faced by alcoholics as well as the sufferings of their family members and they volunteer for the cause of emancipation of the society fro