The New Delhi Government has directed the hotels, clubs, and restaurants serving alcohol to ensure to verify their clients ages via hard copies of government identity proofs. This move has been done in response to the violations of age detected by the excise department during their routine inspection.

Notably, In Delhi, liquor is only served to persons who are aged 25 or above. In the previous inspections, the excise department teams have found customers, younger than 25 years are having alcohol at bars, clubs, and restaurants.

The officials have reported that some customers were also found consuming liquor while pretending to meet the age requirement. The department has also received some complaints about serving alcohol to minors, which prompted them to conduct a review of these violations.

What is the Delhi Excise Act 2009?

It is to be noted that under the Delhi Excise Act 2009, it is illegal for any person, licensed vendor, or their employees and agents to sell or deliver alcohol to those who are younger than the age of 25 years. 

The Excise Department of Delhi has emphasized the importance of these guidelines in a circular issued to license holders.

All the license holders of hotels, clubs, and restaurants are hereby directed to be more careful and to not to serve liquor to any person under the age of 25 years without verifying the age through government issued-ID proofs, the notice stated.

Further, in order to strengthen this regulation, the excise department has also suggested the licensees verify customer the customer’s age using physical ID-proofs rather than virtual ones, saved in their mobile phones. Except for the ones that are stored in Digi locker App.

This move is aimed at curbing the use of fake identities by people and non-compliance with legal age norms.

Illegal Liquor Drinking: A Lingering Issue in New Delhi

Additionally, the legal drinking age has been a lingering issue in New Delhi. Despite strict regulations and law enforcement, there have been numerous instances of underage drinking and the use of fake IDs to bypass age restrictions.

To combat the issue, Delhi government has also launched several awareness campaigns to address the problem, make the city drug-free in the next three years, and enable the youth to have a healthy life.