This 'Red Card' shakes up Mizoram's prohibition policy

Guwahati: The Zoram People's Movement (ZPM)-led Mizoram government has decided to allow residents to obtain permits for the consumption and possession of liquor on medical grounds. A notification issued by the state government on Tuesday said eligible individuals may apply for a permit, known as 'Red Card', under Section 45B(1) of the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2025. As per the notification, applicants will be required to pay ₹50 for the permit and an annual fee of ₹5,000 for its renewal and retention.

"The commissioner or any other officer duly authorised by him may grant a permit, which shall be called a 'Red Card', to any person having prescription from registered medical practitioners, duly countersigned by the medical superintendent for purchase and consumption of liquor on health grounds," the notification stated.

The notification added, "A holder of Red Card shall not drink liquor at a public place, institution or hotel in which the public may have access." Mizoram has largely remained a dry state for decades. The Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019, was enacted as soon as the Mizo National Front (MNF) government returned to power.


The ZPM government, which assumed office on December 8, 2023, had pledged to ease aspects of the prohibition regime, particularly to support farmers engaged in grape cultivation and other cash crops.

In 2025, the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2025, was passed in the state assembly to allow the manufacture and supply of wine and local beer made solely from locally produced agriculture and horticulture products.

Mizoram faces a huge problem of drug abuse and the influx from Myanmar has made cheap drugs available in the border state. In 2019, after its win, the MNF government passed the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019, prohibiting manufacture, sale and consumption of liquor. MNF had promised prior to the assembly elections that it would prohibit liquor in the state.