RIGHT TO PRIVACY
The right to privacy is included in over 150 national constitutions. Everyone has a legal right to be protected from such interference or attacks. “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”- Article 21 of The Constitution of India. The right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution. Last week’s unanimous judgment by the Supreme Court of India (SCI) in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) vs Union of India is a resounding victory for privacy. Today, the liquor ban in Gujarat is under a challenge from the right to privacy perspective.
BACKGROUND
The Gujarat High Court heard a slew of applications today challenging the state’s restriction on the manufacture, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages, as enacted under the Gujarat Prohibition Act of 1949. The law is being challenged on the grounds of ‘manifest arbitrariness and a violation of the ‘right to privacy,’ according to the petition.
The case will be heard again tomorrow by a Division Bench consisting of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav.
Kamal Trivedi, the Advocate General, filed preliminary objections to the challenge today. He claimed that the High Court could not hear an appeal from the Supreme Court’s ruling in State Of Bombay & Anr. v. FN Balsara, which affirmed the legality of the 1949 Act. “We are now in the 71st year since the Supreme Court affirmed the whole Act, with the exception of a few provisions, on May 25, 1951.
The petition will also be heard on Tuesday. The Advocate General said that out of the total population of 6.75 crore, only 21 thousand have been given health permits. Along with temporary permits like visitor and tourist permits, only 66 thousand people in the state have liquor permits every year.
Liquor is banned in the state for 71 years. In violation of the prohibition law, no person can be allowed to drink alcohol sitting at home.
Under Section 13 of the Gujarat Prohibition Act, 1949:
No person shall—
(a) bottle any liquor for sale ;
(b) consume or use liquor; or
(c) use, keep or have in his possession any materials, still, utensils, implements or apparatus whatsoever for the manufacture of any liquor.
Three years ago a petitioner had filed a petition in the High Court seeking permission to allow private drinking. Thereafter, four more petitioners have sought quashing of various relevant sections of the Gujarat Narcotics Act and the Bombay Foreign Liquor Rules. These petitions are being heard in the High Court.
