The Delhi government has issued a strong directive to hotels, clubs, and restaurants across the city, instructing them to verify the age of customers before serving alcohol. The move comes after the excise department found multiple violations of the legal drinking age during routine inspections.
Under the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, liquor can only be served to individuals who are 25 years of age or older. However, during recent inspections, officials discovered instances where customers younger than 25 had been served alcohol at various establishments. Some individuals were also found to be pretending to be 25 years old, with complaints surfacing about certain excise licensees serving liquor to underage patrons.
In response, the excise department issued a circular to all operators of hotels, clubs, and restaurants (HCRs), emphasizing that no liquor should be served to anyone under the age of 25 without proper verification of age through physical government-issued identity proofs. Digital or virtual IDs, unless saved on official platforms like Digilocker, have been specifically discouraged to prevent the use of fake or altered identification.
“All license holders of hotels, clubs, and restaurants are hereby directed to be more cautious and ensure that no person under the age of 25 is served alcohol without verifying their age through hard copies of valid government IDs,” the department’s circular stated.
Violations of the legal drinking age norm are subject to penalties under the Delhi Excise Act, 2009. The government’s move aims to curb underage drinking and ensure that the legal age requirement is strictly enforced at all licensed establishments.
This issue surrounding the legal drinking age has been contentious, particularly because neighboring NCR cities like Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, and Faridabad have a lower legal drinking age. The Delhi government had also considered lowering the drinking age to 21 years as part of the excise policy for 2021-22, but the policy was scrapped following allegations of corruption and rule violations.
With these recent actions, the Delhi government aims to ensure better compliance with the legal drinking age regulations, reinforcing its commitment to public health and safety.
Sources By Agencies
