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The Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949

The Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949

  • The Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949 is being challenged before the Gujarat High Court, more than seven decades after it came into effect as the Bombay Prohibition Act.
  • The petition challenges the said law on grounds of 'manifest arbitrariness' and violation of 'right to privacy'.

The Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949:

  • It was introduced in Bombay province as Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 to overhaul the law relating to intoxicating drugs and narcotics total prohibition.
  • It is an Act relating to the promotion and enforcement of alcohol prohibition in the Bombay State.
  • The Bombay state was divided into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat in 1960.
  • Gujarat adopted the prohibition policy in 1960.
  • In 2011, it renamed the Act as Gujarat Prohibition Act,
  • The act was amended in 2016, and

The rationale behind this Act:

  • It was stated that the state government was “committed to the ideals and principles of Mahatma Gandhi and firmly intends to eradicate the menace of drinking liquor.”

Important provision:

  • Under the Act, a permit is mandatory to purchase, possess, consume or serve liquor.
  • The Act empowers the police to arrest a person for purchasing, consuming or serving alcohol without the permit with punishment ranging from three months to five years in prison.

Main grounds raised against the Act:

  • The right to privacy is violated, which was given voice by the Supreme Court in 2017 in Puttaswamy judgment.
  • The Right is associated with the citizens’ right to eat and drink as per their choice.
  • Manifest arbitrariness: The law grants health permits and temporary permits to out-of-state tourists.
  • The petition says there are no intelligible differences in the classes thus being created by the state on who gets to drink and who does not and violates the Right to Equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.

Arguments before the Gujarat HC:

  • The Act when it was upheld, was part of a criminal trial the new grounds regard to right to privacy, was not available as a right in 1951
  • The right of privacy, upheld by the SC for the first time in 2017."

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