J U D G M E N T

(Judgment of the Court was delivered by N.KIRUBAKARAN, J)

"LIQUOR CAUSES MORE EVILS IT MAKES MANY AS DEVILS"

Easy accessibility and availability of alcohol made by Governments is the main reason for increase in crimes in the society.

Many precious lives are lost and many people are injured and crippled due to drunken driving. Heinous crimes are committed under intoxication. Health of citizens who are consuming liquor is gradually affected violating fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India making it as a dangerous social problem. Women and children are worst sufferers due to alcohol as men become drunkards and they usually beat them after intoxication.

2. About 70 lakh people out of 68 million population of Tamil Nadu consume alcohol every day. 6500 TASMAC shops cater to the needs of the consumers earning 35% of State's income. Mostly the consumers are invariably labourers, farmers, lower middle and lower strata people. Most of the daily wagers are stated to be spending 50% or more of their earnings on "QUARTER (180 ml.)" of liquor driving their families to abject poverty. Women and children need to be protected from domestic violence, sex crimes, poverty, etc. Innumerable families are being shattered because of drinking and drunken driving. Health, wealth and peace are lost due to alcohol and mostly, the sufferers are women and children as they are affected physically, psychologically and economically. More people including juveniles are becoming addicts.

3.1.Drinking causes many health hazards apart from causing numerous road accidents and many heinous crimes. Researchers have linked alcohol consumption to more than 60 diseases. "ALCOHOL DOES ALL KINDS OF THINGS IN THE BODY, AND WE ARE NOT FULLY AWARE OF ALL ITS EFFECTS. IT IS A PRETTY COMPLICATE LITTLE MOLECULE.“ says James C.Garbutt, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and a researcher at the University's Bowles Center for Alcohol studies. Doctors say that alcohol consumption causes 60 diseases and major among them are cardio vascular disease, cancer, anemia, liver cirrohosis, dementia, depression, seizures, gout, high blood pressure, infectious disease, nerve damage, pancreatitis, etc. Hence, people should be discouraged to take alcohol. Many States like, Bihar, Nagaland, apart from dry States like Gujarat banned alcohol completely or partially. Mr.Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar claimed huge drop in domestic violence and rape cases, since alcohol ban was introduced in April 2015 (between April 2015 and April

2016).

3.2.Tamil Nadu stands first in the number of road accidents having 63,920 accidents accounting for 13.7% share in the total accidents that occurred in India, during 2018. In terms of accident deaths, the casualties are 22,256 persons in Uttarpradesh, 13,261 persons in Maharashtra and 12,216 persons in Tamil Nadu.

4.Though it is written on the liquor bottles that “Drinking is injurious to health”, still the Government is selling or supplying liquor to the citizens, affecting their fundamental right under Article 21, contrary to Article 41 of the Constitution of India which deals about total prohibition to be brought in.

5.Here is a case wherein drunken driving has crippled the victim as a vegetable.

6.The appeal has been preferred by the claimant aggrieved with the quantum of compensation of Rs.4,37,920/- towards disability sustained by him due to the injuries caused to him in the accident which occurred on 01.02.2013, when he was driving on GST Road from North to South in his car and stopped to take a turn towards west to go to Gandhi Road after giving proper signal and while entering Gandhi Road a lorry belonging to the 1st respondent, insured with the 2nd respondent driven by its driver rashly and negligently, hit against the car resulting in the victim sustaining grievous injuries. Therefore, claim petition.

7.The claim petition was contested by the