Lives Of Bihar People At Risk Due To State's Policy On Liquor Ban: Court

The lives of the people of Bihar have come under risk because of the state government's failure to effectively implement its much-touted prohibition law, the Patna High Court has said.

The remark came from the single judge bench of Justice Purnendu Singh, who also enumerated the "adverse consequences" of the government's "laxity" like a spurt in hooch tragedies, drug addiction, and environmental hazards posed by improper destruction of seized bottles.

The sale and consumption of alcohol were completely banned in the state by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016, in keeping with a promise made to the women of Bihar by the chief minister ahead of the assembly polls held the previous year.

The bench was hearing the bail petition of Niraj Singh, a resident of Muzaffarpur district who has been in jail in a prohibition-related case since November last year.

"This court finds that the lives of the citizens of the state are risked by the failure of the state machinery in effectively implementing the provisions of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, as amended from time to time," the bench, in its order dated October 12, said.

The court underscored the "large numbers of hooch tragedies" taking place after prohibition came into force as "the most worrying part" and rapped the state government for having "failed to develop standard operating protocol" for treatment of those who fell ill upon consumption of spurious liquor.

It noted that illicit liquor was laced with methyl, five millilitres of which was "enough to make one go blind and 10 millilitres is quite often fatal" and expressed the view that "separate health centres" should be in place, manned by specially trained personnel for treatment of such patients.

The court also remarked that besides hooch, "rampant use of illicit drugs" was another cause for worry and pulled up the government for having "failed to stop trafficking" of narcotics across the state.

The bench noted with concern that consumption of charas, ganja, and bhang, all derivatives of cannabis, had shot up since prohibition, and "most addicts were below 25 years of age, some even as young as 10 years old".

Highlighting bureaucratic corruption, the court observed that officials of police, excise, and transport departments appeared to "love liquor ban, for them, it means big money. The number of cases registered is few against kingpins/syndicate operators" in comparison to those lodged against the poor.

"Majority of the poor... who are facing the wrath of this Act, are daily wagers... only earning members of their family," the court noted grimly.

The state government came in for some praise by the court for its innovative policy of making bangles out of crushed liquor bottles.

The court, however, stressed on the need for an "environment-friendly policy" with respect to liquor contained in the bottles and pointed out that in localities close to the places where it is destroyed, the quality of underground water and soil has deteriorated.

Concern was also expressed over "hiring of minors" as having become "a new way of smuggling liquor in the dry state, they (smugglers) know that once they (the minors) are arrested, they will face trial in juvenile court and will be released within a few months".

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