Patna: The Patna High Court has reprimanded authorities over the alleged improper implementation of the liquor prohibition law in Bihar which has led to a deluge of cases in courts. The court went so far as to say that the officers "do not use their brains in implementing the prohibition law".
A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol, while hearing the petitions on the matter, said that the excise law was not being implemented properly. The court passed the judgment while underlining an overwhelming number of cases arising out of the liquor prohibition law. Since the Bihar government implemented the prohibition law in 2016, cases have been piling up in the courts of various districts of Bihar including Patna High Court.
The court said that the number of cases filed every day for the release of seized vehicles under the prohibition law is increasing which has burdened the courts. "Officers don't use their brains in enforcing the prohibition law. The burden of cases on the courts is increasing. The confiscation or auction of liquor is issued by state authorities, in which discretion is not exercised. The number of cases filed every day for the release of the seized vehicles under the Prohibition Act is increasing. We are facing problems day by day," Chief Justice Sanjay Karol said.
The Patna High Court has asked the State Excise Commissioner to submit a report in 2 weeks and tell how many people have been arrested in the last 3 months under the Prohibition Act and how many cases of seized vehicles are pending in each district. The court has also directed the Excise Department to put the data related to Prohibition and Registration Department on the website within a week.
Also read: SC raps Bihar for deluge of cases against prohibition law, Oppn calls it a 'flop show'
As per officials, a total of 1,28,636 cases related to liquor ban have been tried in the courts so far. Pertinently, the Supreme Court had, earlier this year, also pulled up the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government over the overwhelming litigations entailing the 2016 liquor prohibition law. The Bihar Prohibition Act of 2016 prohibits the sale, drinking, and brewing of alcohol and initially provided for attachment of property and up to life imprisonment.
Although an amendment in 2018 relaxed the sentence, according to the data of Bihar Police Headquarters, more than 3 lakh cases related to violation of alcohol prohibition law had been registered as of February this year. With the subsequent litigations piling up both at the Bihar High Court as well as the Supreme Court, the apex court had asked the Bihar government whether all aspects were studied while enacting the law and what concrete steps were taken to increase the number of judges and courts to deal with the cases in the state.
