Patna HC ruling against liquor ban in Bihar stayed

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Patna high court order that quashed a Bihar government notification banning the sale and consumption of liquor in

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed a Patna high court order that quashed a Bihar government notification banning the sale and consumption of liquor in the state.

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The order came on an appeal by the Nitish Kumar government, which said the high court’s September 30 verdict impeded its efforts to bring about complete prohibition.

Two days after the high court quashed the order, the state government — on Gandhi Jayanti — drew up a new anti-liquor law with harsher provisions for violators. These included placing all adults in a house under arrest in the event of liquor being recovered from its premises.

The apex court is likely to consider whether an individual can claim liquor consumption as his/her fundamental right under the Constitution.

Kumar and his government announced prohibition to fulfil an election promise earlier this year to women in a state where alcoholism is a problem in many families. Approximately 16,000 people were booked for flouting the prohibition law since it came into force on April 5.