Mumbai: Setback for government in regulating denatured spirits

Mumbai: In a setback to the Maharashtra government, the Bombay High Court has struck down certain provisions of the ‘Bombay Denatured Spirit Rules’ by which the state wanted to regulate the possession, use, sale, import and export of denatured spirit and ethanol.

The state government had recently introduced new rules by which it could regulate the possession, use, sale, import and export of denatured spirit and impose duty fees on it. It said the rules were aimed at ensuring that the denatured spirit was not diluted and misused for consumption as ‘hooch’.

Several companies which manufacture denatured spirit and ethanol had approached the high court, challenging the new rules.

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The companies claim that they have already acquired licence from the state under the rules for manufacturing the denatured spirit. According to the petitioners, the companies manufacture ethanol by re-distillation process of denatured spirit, which is in-turn used as ad-mixture in motor spirit. They claimed that the state government only has the power to levy duty on alcoholic beverages for human consumption, including regulating the rectified spirit, which can be diverted for potable purposes.

During the arguments, government pleader Abhinandan Vagyani had said that denatured spirit was capable of being re-natured. The rules prohibit any person from altering or attempting to alter denatured spirits by dilution or any method with the intention that such spirit may be used for human consumption as an intoxicating liquor, he said. Vagyani pointed out that there were several cases which had resulted in casualties after people consumed denatured spirit as ‘hooch’, and since there was no control over use and sale of denatured spirit, the state government has enacted the rules.

On December 13, a division bench of Justices A S Oka and Riyaz Chagla, in its ruling, had struck down rules 23 to 62 of the Bombay Denatured Spirit Rules as “ultra vires and unconstitutional”.