A minor at 24? Ggn asks

At the latest raid on a city pub, all the ‘minors’ who were caught drinking were over 18. With the police stepping up on pub checks in Gurgaon, should adults get ready for unpleasant nightouts?
Last week’s police raid at the pub Buzzin Buddies, where 100 school students were found to be at a party where alcohol was being served, added fuel to the debate on the easy availability of alcohol to teenagers in Gurgaon.Most pubs in the city, in the competition to make money, do not check any age proof before serving alcohol to a minor, which means that a 16-year-old can easily walk into one and order a drink.
However, Sunday’s police raid on Club 18, which is in Vipul Agora Mall on MG Road, might have taken things too far. Excise sources have confirmed that none of the ‘minors’ caught in the raid – six boys and three girls – were under 18. They were only ‘minors’ because the legal drinking age in the state is 25. However, classifying those who are in the 18-25 age bracket under the same category as under-18s, is unrealistic. Most people admit that they had their first drink at the legally adult age of 18 (or even earlier), and wonder whether the cops would raid an 18th birthday party if their dad offered them their first drink to salute their coming of age? While no one is questioning the diktat of not serving alcohol to a school kid, why penalize a 24-year-old for holding a drink (which could be at his own wedding, perhaps?) if they’re not creating a nuisance?
The cops’ side
Should Gurgaon be set for a raid culture?
Yes, pubs in Gurgaon do need to be reined in from letting teens walk in, but even those who are adults in the legal sense, should get ready for the possibility of ending up in a police raid, as they are set to increase in frequency. Gurgaon police commissioner Alok Mittal tells us, “After the incident at Buzzin Buddies pub, where 100 minors were found drinking, we formed a special team to conduct surprise checks at pubs. It was on one of those surprise checks on Sunday at some pubs that the team found a small group of minors at Club 18. After the previous incident, we have also given orders to all pub owners to install CCTV cameras in their pubs within 15 days. In the next 15-20 days, we will start carrying out checks on the installation of the cameras, and if pubs are found without CCTV cameras, we will register a case under Section 188 of the IPC (disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant).”
Gurgaon’s young set worried
It’s scary to think that my birthday party, that too with my parents, could have been raided
Youngsters are as shocked as anyone by the two recent raids. Aditi Bhatia, 17, says, “I don’t know why such incidents are happening back-to-back in Gurgaon. The first incident pretty much shook me up. I guess, kids here have a lot of their father’s money to spend, and alcohol is easily available in shady pubs to anyone and everyone.” Shiven Wadhwa, 21, worries that the city’s pubs need to learn from what is happening. “Gurgaon pubs really need to learn from these experiences. I am worried that a time will come when no pub will have a license left to serve alcohol,” he says.
But is expecting that no one touches a drop of liquor before turning 25, asking for too much? Ridhi Gupta*, 23, tells us, “I don’t know anyone who hasn’t tried alcohol before 25. The police is going to catch some people at a bar every now and then, but very few of us in Gurgaon actually go to bars to chill. We drink at home during house parties, and there has so far never been a problem to buy alcohol from thekas.”
Manya Saxena*, 21, says, “I didn’t even know the legal age for drinking is 25. I bet there is no one who has waited that long to have alcohol. Ninety per cent of my friends drink at parties and otherwise. My parents also know I drink on occasions, and haven’t ever had a problem with it.” Aditya Sen*, 18, adds, “My father offered me my first drink on my 18th birthday. It’s scary to think that my birthday party, that too with my parents present, could have been raided by the police because of ‘underage drinking’.” Shine Arora, 16, tells us, “I know that some kids in my school drink, and it’s not like, ‘oh, that’s illegal’ or something. A couple of them have parents who are okay with it too. I’ve never heard of any of them having a problem buying booze, especially guys.”
Times view
We have long held that there’s nothing logical about a person who can marry (if female), vote and drive at 18, not to be able to drink at that age. A person can now even work as a bartender at 21, but is not allowed to drink till 25. Do we really believe that someone responsible enough to determine who should run the country or set up a family isn’t mature enough to handle a mug of beer? Putting a 24-year-old with a drink in the same age bracket as a 15-year-old who is drinking, is patently absurd. And should only those policemen who are above 25 be allowed to raid bars, as a younger cop’s presence at such an establishment would ‘raise questions’? A law like the one on the drinking age needlessly makes offenders out of people who are not committing an offence at all. Laws that are unreasonable will continue to be flouted, like this one already is. A modern, reasonable law that reduces the drinking age to 18 is the need of the hour.
‘Caught’ drinking? Penalty for the pub, not you
Gurgaon police commissioner Alok Mittal does clarify that a minor being ‘caught’ drinking is not committing an offence, and attracts no penalty; it’s the pub owner who does. “In such cases, where minors are found drinking at a pub, the owner is legally accountable. Minors can’t be prosecuted under the law. In the case of Buzzin Buddies, a case was registered against the bar owner. In the second case (at Club 18), the Excise Department challaned the pub for serving liquor to people below the age of 25.”
Pubs admit carelessness
Running a pub is a responsibility
However, while both the owners of Club 18 refused to comment, pub owners and managers in Gurgaon unanimously agree that the careless attitude of pubs, that allows very young people to buy alcohol, does need to be checked. Akshay Luthria, co-owner of Lemp Brewpub and Kitchen, says, “The regular incidents happening in Gurgaon are unfortunate. Running a pub is a responsibility, and if you’re catering to a young crowd, you have to make sure you’re doing the right thing under the law. The fact is, a kid is going to behave like a kid after drinking, while an adult is old enough to know how to handle him or herself after a few drinks.”
Amit Jakhar, food and beverage manner at Howzzat pub, says that requests for parties from school kids are often declined by them. “In March, a school kid wanted to have his birthday party in the club. He said they’ll only have mocktails but they want to book the bar. Such requests often come, but to entertain them is a petty cash-making method.”
But does the checking of IDs before serving a drink work in Gurgaon? Vikas Chauhan of Route 69 says, “The fault lies with the clubs and minors both. There is greed in the minds of pub owners, and minors are tempted by easily available drinks. We have a lot of corporate parties from people employed in MNCs, and we don’t check for everyone’s age proof then. But we are more careful about checking IDs when it comes to college gatherings like farewells and MBA parties.”
(Names changed on request)