The Tasmac vending machine at a mall in Chenna
| Photo Credit: Vedhan M
The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a public curiosity litigation petition, which claimed that the set up of automatic vending machines, to dispense liquor bottles and cans, at Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) elite outlets in purchasing malls, would lead the to sale of liquor even to these beneath 21 years of age.
A trip Bench of Justices A.D. Jagadish Chandira and C. Saravanan refused to entertain the petition after Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran submitted {that a} malicious marketing campaign had been carried out, making it appear as if the vending machines had been put in in frequent areas inside malls and any particular person might fetch a liquor bottle from them at will. The AAG stated, to date, solely 4 vending machines had been put in, and so they have been positioned effectively contained in the elite outlets run by Tasmac at Forum Mall in Vadapalani, Ten Square Mall in Koyambedu, Express Avenue Mall in Royapettah and Phoenix Mall in Velachery. All these vending machines have been supervised by the workers of the elite outlets.
Referring to Rule 11A of the Tamil Nadu Liquor Vending (In Shops and Bars) Rules of 2003, he stated, the statutory rule prohibits sale or serving of liquor to those that had not accomplished 21 years of age. In case of doubts concerning the age of an individual, the Tasmac licencees might demand documentary proof to show the age of the particular person.
Acting in accordance with this rule, the Tasmac administration had already issued circulars to all its workers instructing them to strictly adhere to the regulation. Therefore, the apprehension raised by the PIL petitioner B. Ramakumar Adityan, an advocate from Thoothukudi, of probabilities of liquor being bought to the underaged, was baseless, the AAG argued.
The regulation officer additionally informed the court docket that it was not recognized from the place the petitioner had provide you with an assertion in his affidavit stating that Tasmac had deliberate to put in as many as 800 automatic liquor vending machines throughout the State. He stated, this assertion was fully baseless and never supported by any documentary proof.
In his submissions, the petitioner’s counsel S. Sankar stated, related machines had been put in in Western international locations however these machines require identification proof for allotting liquor bottles and thereby be certain that they may not be accessed by the underaged. No such provision had been created by Tasmac, he complained.
Further, referring to latest incidents of faculty college students, each girls and boys, being present in an inebriated state and their movies having gone viral on social media platforms, the litigant, in his affidavit, feared that entry to alcohol by minors may develop into a lot simpler if the bottles have been distributed by automatic vending machines.
