New Delhi [India], October 23 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the Central government lacks power over the production of industrial alcohol and states have the power to regulate it.
A nine-judge bench of the apex court, by a majority of 8:1, said that the states' power cannot be taken away for making laws on intoxicating liquor.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Abhay S Oka, BV Nagarathna, JB Pardiwala, Manoj Misra, Ujjal Bhuyan, Satish Chandra Sharma, and Augustine George Masih said that the term "intoxicating liquor" in Entry 8 of List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution will include industrial alcohol.
Justice BV Nagarathna, however, gave a separate and dissenting verdict, saying the Centre alone will have the legislative power to regulate industrial alcohol.
The majority verdict also overruled a seven-judge bench 1990 judgement that said that "intoxicating liquors" only referred to potable (drinkable) alcohol, and therefore, states cannot tax industrial alcohol.
Notably, industrial alcohol is not meant for human consumption.
The nine-judge bench was to decide whether state governments have the power to regulate industrial alcohol.
The arguments in the case were centred on the scope of the Union's power to legislate on industries under Entry 52 of the Union List, and the states' powers to make laws on industrial alcohol under Entry 8 of the State List.
Various states had challenged the Centre's position that it had exclusive control over industrial alcohol.