Planning a booze party in Delhi? Must be 25 or older, carry govt-issued physical ID

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has directed hotels, clubs, and restaurants serving liquor to verify the age of their patrons using physical government-issued identity proofs after instances of underage drinking were detected.

In Delhi, the legal drinking age is 25 years.

Recent inspections by the excise department revealed that some establishments were serving alcohol to individuals under the age of 25. Officials also reported cases of customers using fake or altered IDs to bypass age restrictions, prompting the department to issue strict guidelines to license holders.

A circular from the excise department mandates licensees to verify age only through physical IDs, excluding digital copies saved on mobile phones, except for those stored in the government’s Digilocker portal. The directive aims to prevent the use of fraudulent digital IDs. Violations of the legal drinking age can lead to penalties under the Delhi Excise Act, 2009.

The legal drinking age in Delhi has long been a point of debate, as it differs from neighboring NCR cities like Gurugram and Noida, where it is lower. A proposal to reduce it to 21 under a scrapped 2021 excise policy failed to materialize amid corruption allegations.

As part of a broader campaign to make Delhi drug-free within three years, the excise department has instructed establishments to take an e-pledge and prominently display certificates at their premises.

License holders have been urged to raise awareness among staff and patrons about the importance of staying away from drug abuse and promoting responsible behavior.


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