Supreme Court Nullifies Maharashtra’s Methanol Denaturing Rules

On September 18, 2026, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court (Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran) struck down Rules 18A and 18B of the Maharashtra Poisons Rules, 1972. The provisions required methanol sold to non-drug manufacturers to be mixed with a colourant and bitterant and mandated verification of a Form A licence before sale. The Court held the rules violated Articles 14 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution as disproportionate and lacking a reasonable nexus to preventing illicit liquor.

The Hindu

Methanol is a highly toxic industrial chemical used in formaldehyde, paints, resins and other products. In 1991 a hooch tragedy in Mumbai’s Andheri district, linked to spurious liquor containing methanol, resulted in around 93 deaths. A committee chaired by Additional Director General of Police P. R. Parthasarthy investigated the incident and recommended stricter controls. In 2011 Maharashtra amended its Poisons Rules, introducing Rules 18A and 18B to curb diversion of methanol into illicit liquor.

The HinduThePrint

• 1991 hooch tragedy: approximately 93 fatalities (court reference).

ThePrint

• ThePrint notes that at least ten major mass hooch tragedies have occurred in Maharashtra since its formation, claiming over 600 lives.

ThePrint

• Rule 18A required verification of a purchaser’s Form A licence; Rule 18B allowed confiscation of methanol possessed without such a licence.

The Hindu

• The State argued that mandating colour and bitter additives would make methanol identifiable and unpalatable, thereby deterring its use in illicit liquor.

The Hindu

• The Court emphasized that while regulation of a hazardous substance is legitimate, any restriction must satisfy the proportionality test established in *K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India* (2017).

The Hindu

• “We are, in this case, concerned with the measures adopted by the Administration in the wake of a hooch tragedy to make methanol, both unpalatable and unrecognisable. Mark Twain has famously said, ‘Evidence has been brought forward which proves that prohibition only drives drunkenness behind doors and into dark places, and does not cure it or even diminish it’,” — Justice Pardiwala, who authored the judgment

ThePrint

• 1991 – Mumbai hooch tragedy kills ~93 people.

ThePrint

• 2011 – Maharashtra amends Poisons Rules, introducing Rules 18A and 18B.

The Hindu

• September 18, 2026 – Supreme Court declares the rules unconstitutional.

The Hindu

• The Hindu’s account focuses on the death toll of the 1991 incident, while ThePrint adds that 250 persons consumed the spurious liquor, of whom 93 died. Both sources agree on the fatality count but differ on the total number of consumers.

ThePrint

• The Court’s judgment outlines the constitutional deficiencies of the rules but does not specify alternative regulatory mechanisms, leaving a gap in guidance for future state-level methanol control.

The Hindu

The Court directed that states cooperate across the Prohibition, Excise, Police, Transport, Industries and Health departments, along with NGOs, to develop stronger, proportionate measures for preventing hooch tragedies. Effective implementation will depend on state enforcement agencies.

The Hindu