The Kerala Toddy Shop Licensee Association has moved the Supreme Court saying toddy does not fall under the definition of “liquor” and therefore should be exempted from the ban imposed by the apex court on sale of alcohol within 500 metres of a highway.
A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi issue notice to the central and Kerala governments after the petitioner’s counsel contended that toddy was different from other forms of liquor.
Toddy is a natural drink and has a very low degree of intoxication, the association claimed.
It said the state action amounts to discrimination against those engaged in the business and infringes upon their fundamental right to earn a livelihood.
It pointed out that the state had in 2003 exempted toddy from the application of the rule of observing a dry day. In the Kerala Akbari Act, 1902, toddy has been distinctly defined from spirits, liquor, beer and arrack.
“The respondents (state) have taken toddy to fall under ‘liquor’ as used in the orders of this court, overlooking the fact that though toddy - which has a minuscule quantity of alcohol - finds its mention under the definition of ‘liquor’ under the Kerala Abkari Act. The very fact that toddy has also been separately defined under section 3(8) of the Act shows the legislative intent on treating toddy separate to that from ‘liquor,” the petition said.
However, the fact that toddy has been defined separately as a “fermented or unfermented juice drawn from a coconut, palmyra, date, or any other kind of palm tree” shows the difference between the drink and other forms of liquor, it said.
{{/usCountry}}However, the fact that toddy has been defined separately as a “fermented or unfermented juice drawn from a coconut, palmyra, date, or any other kind of palm tree” shows the difference between the drink and other forms of liquor, it said.
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