Supreme Court to Consider Appeal for Biometric Age Check to Prevent Underage Drinking

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• Nov 12, 2024 | Sampreeti Bhuyan

The NGO Community Against Drunken Driving filed the appeal to stop underage drinking...

Digital Desk: The Indian Supreme Court has granted permission to hear a case that calls for biometric age verification to be required in all bars, pubs, and liquor stores across the country. The NGO Community Against Drunken Driving filed the appeal to stop underage drinking and the tragedies that arise from it on Indian roads, in response to growing concerns about deadly accidents caused by intoxicated juvenile drivers.

On this plea, a bench composed of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan asked the Union Government to respond. Senior counsel P.B. Suresh and advocate Vipin Nair spoke on behalf of the NGO, emphasizing the importance of age verification by bringing up the recent Mumbai incident in which two persons were killed by a drunken 17-year-old driving a Porsche.

To prevent similar occurrences, Suresh promoted the adoption of a national policy mandating biometric authentication at alcohol sales locations, which would compare the buyer's age with official identification documents. A tougher barrier would be put in place to prevent children from getting alcohol and possibly getting into accidents or committing other crimes.

Moreover, the petition quotes other research indicating that early alcohol exposure heightens the possibility of violent crimes like homicide, sexual assault, and robbery. As stated by WHO, exposure to alcohol at an early age has been shown to affect children's behavior and increase their likelihood of committing violent crimes like homicide, sexual assault, and robbery.

The complaint further states that there is no uniform law and age for legal drinking in India, depending on the state. Delhi has set its age at 25 years old to drink, and Goa at 18 years old. This leaves much to question regarding an overall approach to underage drinking law.

The Supreme Court will now hear the issue from the government.