ORDER :

(R. Mahadevan, J.)

1. Statutory warnings are intended to instil a sense of fear, but they have had very little effect on human attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol consumption. It is also a sorry state of affairs that persons under 21 years, who are specifically prohibited from drinking alcohol, are in fact addicted to it. Therefore, it is incumbent on the state Government to reduce alcohol dependence and addiction as a public health measure by restricting and effectively regulating it’s sale and consumption.

2. The issues sought to be raised in both these writ petitions, by way of public interest litigation, are similar and identical, therefore, they were taken up for hearing together and are disposed of by this common order.

3. For the sake of clarity and specificity, the prayers made herein are reproduced below:

WP (MD) No. 2543 of 2019:

“to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the respondents 1 and 5 to open all Retail Outlets, Pubs and Bars situated in Tamil Nadu only between 2.00 pm and 8.00 pm to sell all alcoholic breweries and to take appropriate action in case of violation of the norms”

WP (MD) No. 5654 of 2019:

“to issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the first respondent to instruct the respondents 2 to 5 to impose a licensing system to regulate the Sale, Purchase and Usage of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (TASMAC) to the consumers in order to protect its authenticity by considering the petitioner’s representation dated 04.02.2019”

4.1. According to the petitioner in WP (MD) No. 2543 of 2019, he is a practicing advocate. He claims to have presented two papers in the UGC sponsored national seminars on Gender Justice under Indian Criminal Justice System and Medical Negligence and Consumer Protection in India, both organised by Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University. In the present case, the petitioner has sought to project the perils and the raising culture of alcoholism among school students and the degree to which it affects the society. Students are spoilt and their families suffer silently due to liquor consumption. This trend, according to the petitioner, is a socio-economic issue, but little is being done by the respondents to resolve this.

4.2. The petitioner also submitted that the fifth respondent is a wholly owned Government of Tamil Nadu undertaking and it is having monopoly over sale and vending of alcoholic beverages. The fifth respondent has taken over the wholesale distribution of Indian Made Foreign Liquor from private sectors in the State in May 1983 and is doing retail business successfully from 29.11.2003 by procuring Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Beer stocks locally from 11 IMFS manufacturers and 7 Beer manufactures in the State. The respondents 1 and 5 are in receipt of huge amount by way of licensing fee and selling the liquor through 3000 and odd retail shops established by the fifth respondent. There are sporadic protests led by women for closure of liquor shops in the state driven by the issues related to addiction and their effects on family, but little is done in this regard. On the other hand, the number of retail shops is mushrooming throughout the State and there is no reduction seen. The petitioner also recounted the increasing suicidal tendency among youngsters, number of suicides, job loss and reduced inclination to take up employment among men attributable to addiction to alcohol.

4.3. The petitioner further stated that the first and fifth respondents are continuously encouraging liquor consumption in order to increase revenue at the cost of the health of the citizens of the State. For this purpose, the fifth respondent has opened several retail liquor shops wherever possible inspite of agitation by the public. The petitioner also stated that the root cause for today's condition is the passing of an amendment to Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 in October 2003 which has led to an increased consumption of liquor among the citizens. According to the petitioner, unless the resp