Supreme Court Rules States Can Regulate Industrial Alcohol

The Supreme Court of India, through a nine-judge Constitution bench, ruled by an 8:1 majority on Wednesday that states possess the authority to regulate industrial alcohol. This decision overturns a previous judgment from 1990 by a seven-judge bench that had determined that states could not exercise this power.

The landmark ruling comes in the wake of a challenge to the earlier decision made in the Synthetics and Chemicals case. That judgment favored the central government, asserting that states could not regulate industrial alcohol, even under the Concurrent List of the Constitution.

Majority Opinion

The majority opinion was articulated by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud along with justices Hrishikesh Roy, AS Oka, JB Pardiwala, Ujjal Bhuyan, Manoj Misra, SC Sharma, and AG Masih. They collectively affirmed the states’ legislative power regarding industrial alcohol, marking a notable shift in the legal landscape.

Dissenting Viewpoint

In contrast, Justice BV Nagarathna provided the dissenting opinion, arguing that only the central government should retain the legislative power over industrial alcohol regulation. This divergence highlights the ongoing debate over the distribution of powers between state and central authorities in India.