₹50,000 fine is all it takes to escape from legal actions in Abkari case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Cabinet approved the draft bill to amend the Abkari Act by increasing the compound fee for the remission of sentences in Abkari cases to ₹50,000. According to the Abkari Act, advertisements for alcohol should not be given to promote the consumption of alcohol. Section 55 (h) of the Abkari Act provides for imprisonment of up to six months and a fine of up to ₹25,000 for those who violate this and post advertisements on social media. Yesterday's Cabinet meeting approved an amendment to close cases like this by paying a compound fee of ₹50,000.
Under the Abkari Act 55 (I), there is a provision for imprisonment of up to six months and a fine of ₹10,000 for those who do not display a statutory warning that alcohol is injurious to health in the scenes of alcohol consumption in films and television. The amendment is to close such cases as well by paying a compounding fee of ₹50,000.