SC issues notice to states and UTs, objects to misleading labelling

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday acknowledged the problems caused by sale of alcohol in tetra packs, deceptively labelled as ‘green apple vodka’ or ‘Chelly Mango Vodka’, and agreed to examine an anti-drunken driving NGO’s plea for standardization of excise policy for packaging and bottling of liquor across states.


Appearing for petitioner NGO ‘campaign against drunken driving’ (CADD), advocate Vipin Nair told a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi that such deceptive sale of liquor in tetra packs, portable bottles and sachets increase the risk of under-age drinking and drunken driving.

The CJI-led bench said the problem is the ‘very deceptive’ packaging which may create a misconception that these packs contained fruit juice. Nair said that the excise departments across India must follow a uniform policy and standardize the packaging of liquor. The bench responses of all states and UTs to the PIL.

“These packages pose various risks, including consumption by juveniles, drinking in a moving vehicle, health risks, increased ease of smuggling, ease of public consumption, and environmental risks. Moreover, the tetra packs have attractive packaging with vivid colours but do not have prominent health warnings like in the case of cigarettes, which would dissuade people from drunken driving and responsible drinking,” the NGO said.

It said, “Such packaging, being deceptively similar to fruit juices, facilitates easy access and concealment, encourages underage consumption, promotes public drinking and drunk driving, and even enables smuggling across State borders.”

“It is alarming to note that these tetra packs are marketed under labels such as ‘Bunty Premium Vodka’, ‘Chelli Mango Vodka’ and ‘Premium Romanov Vodka – Apple Thrill’ clearly intended to mislead consumers,” it said.

“The use of fruit names alongside colour photographs of apples and mangoes on the packaging further reinforces this deception. This reflects a deliberate marketing strategy to pass off alcoholic beverages as fruit juices, thereby to evade scrutiny by the authorities and further target underage consumers,” it said.

After pointing out the problem, the NGO said it could be solved by the Union govt which can guide the states to adopt an uniform liquor packaging policy which would not permit sale in deceptive tetra packs that enables consumers, mostly youth and adolescent, to drink them in public places without any inhibition or fear of law.