States’ authority to control industrial alcohol plenary: UP government informs SC

The Uttar Pradesh government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that the states have the full authority to regulate industrial alcohol and that the federal government cannot override this power. The government also emphasized the need to give the term “intoxicating liquor” a broader definition that would encompass industrial alcohol and bring it under the states’ legislative purview.

A nine-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud was informed by senior attorney Dinesh Dwivedi that all beverages with alcohol fall within the category of “intoxicating liquor.”

It went on, “The legislative history makes it abundantly evident that the term ‘intoxicating liquor’ is sufficiently broad to encompass industrial alcohol as well as all liquids containing alcohol.”

“The term ‘intoxicating’ has two meanings: (a) having the capacity to induce intoxication or being capable of doing so, and (b) actually inducing intoxication when consumed in its purest form, as a beverage. Dwivedi informed the bench that both elements should be covered under Entry 8, which covers “all liquids containing alcohols.”