Drunk driving: Supreme Court considers request for mandatory biometric age verification to identify underage buyers

Traffic police officers check drunk driving. (File photo is for representational purposes only.) | Photo credit: The Hindu

India’s Supreme Court on Monday (November 11, 2024) agreed to consider a request to conduct mandatory biometric age verifications at liquor stalls, bars, pubs and other watering holes across the country, even as public anger grows over fatal road accidents caused by drunk underage drivers.

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan decided to hear the Union government’s response to the writ petition filed by NGO Community Against Drunken Driving, an integrated community movement working for the prevention of drunk driving tragedies and underage drinking.

On behalf of the NGO, senior advocate PB Suresh and counsel on record Vipin Nair drew attention to an accident in Mumbai in which two people were killed by a drunk 17-year-old minor driving a Porsche. The call for stricter laws and greater vigilance to prevent the loss of innocent people – families with children and seniors – to drunken shootings.

Mr. Suresh urged the court to lay down an effective protocol and mechanism for enforcing mandatory age verification of underage drinking at alcohol outlets using biometric age matching using government-issued identification documents.

The court was made aware of the connection between underage drinking and criminal behavior. The petition mentions studies, including those from the World Health Organization, that early alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of violent crimes such as robbery, sexual assault and homicide.

“A WHO study found that alcohol consumption increased by 38% between 2010 and 2017, from about 2.4 liters per adult to about 5.8 liters per adult. According to another study, alcohol consumption also increased by 21% during the pandemic, which would lead to 8,000 additional deaths from alcohol-related liver disease, 18,700 cases of liver failure and 1,000 cases of liver cancer by 2040,” the petition says.

“As per data collected from multiple detox centers across India, one in five patients is between 16 and 19 years old,” it said. “The effects of underage drinking include drunk driving, aggressive behavior, fights, property damage, injury, violence and even death,” the petition states.

The petition stated that about 42.3% of boys in the 18-25 age group had their first alcoholic drink before the age of 18 and 90% of them were able to purchase alcohol from retailers without age verification.

The petition highlighted the wide variation in legal drinking ages in different states in India. While Goa allowed alcohol consumption from 18 years, Delhi maintained a higher threshold, which was 25 years.

“This variation extends to other states too – Maharashtra mandates 25 years, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu allow drinking at 18 years,” argued Mr Suresh and Mr Nair.

India’s liquor laws are covered by the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution and vary across states. “There is no unanimity,” the petition says.