Know how much liquor can you legally store at home

If you are an alcohol lover and have a wide collection of spirits at home, then you need to read this article till the end. In a recent order, the Delhi High Court quashed a case against a man who had stored 132 bottles of liquor (107.2 litres), on the grounds that there were 6 adults (over 25- legal drinking age in Delhi) in the family so the permissible limit was 162 litres.

Justice Subramonium Prasad made the observation while overruling the FIR registered against a Delhi resident for illicit storage of alcohol in his house. Read on to know more about the case.

While an FIR was registered against the Delhi man, he was booked under Section 33 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009.

While quashing the FIR, the court noted, "132 bottles of liquor had been recovered from the Petitioner's house, containing 51.8 litres of whisky, vodka, gin, rum, and 55.4 litres of beer, wine. Flowing from Rule 20, as the joint household of the Petitioner consists of six adults above 25 years of age, the permissible limit for possession of liquor at the Petitioner's house would be 54 litres of whisky, vodka, gin and rum, and 108 litres of beer, wine and alcopop. Therefore, there is prima facie no violation by the Petitioner of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009."

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According to the Court, the offence under Section 33 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009 is not made out against the Petitioner from the facts and circumstances of the case, since the quantity of liquor that has been seized from his residence falls within the maximum permissible limit that has been specified under Rule 20 of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010.

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Here are the exact quantities of liquors that you can legally store at home if you are a Delhi resident.

• Indian Liquor and Foreign Liquor- Whisky rum, gin, vodka, and brandy (except wine liqueur, beer, cider and alcopop)- 9 litres.
• Wine, beer, liqueur, cider and alcopop- 18 litres.
• Indian Liquor or Foreign Liquor- 1 litre while entering Delhi from other states.
• Foreign Liquor - 2 litres while entering Delhi from other countries.

Violation of this Rule entails an offence under Section 33 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, which is punishable with imprisonment for a maximum term of three years and a fine which is not less than Rs.50,000 but may extend to Rs.1,00,000.

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