Bihar considers relaxation in liquor law

The Bihar government is contemplating to relax some of the stringent provisions of its liquor prohibition law in force since April 2016 and provide relief for first-time offenders, said a senior official of the prohibition and excise department.

Faced with all-round fire from all sides in the wake of multiple hooch tragedies and harsh comments from the Supreme Court due to mounting legal cases and huge pendency, the Bihar government is now contemplating to relax some of the stringent provisions of its liquor prohibition law in force since April 2016 and provide relief for first-time offenders, said a senior official of the prohibition and excise department.

Liquor prohibition law is in force since April 2016 in Bihar. (Santosh Kumar/HT photo)

This intends to insert new sub-sections in the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016, to scale down the penal provisions and impose financial penalty. The amendments may be brought through an ordinance or the proposed Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022, during the next session of the state legislature.

Additional chief secretary (home) Chaitanya Prasad said consultations are under way on the proposal initiated by the excise department to amend some provisions and provide relief to first-time offenders caught drinking by imposing a fine.

Failure to pay penalty shall invite simple imprisonment of one month, but repeat offences may invite additional penalty or imprisonment or both.

According to the proposed amendments under discussion, all offences related to prohibition law shall be disposed of through summary trial by an executive magistrate not below the rank of deputy collector. Investigations will be conducted by an excise officer or a police officer not below the rank of assistant sub-inspector.

The proposed amendments also have a provision for release of vehicles/ animals used for carrying intoxicants or liquor by the collector upon payment of fixed penalty, failing which the collector shall proceed with confiscation proceedings.

In July last year, the Patna High Court had directed that all proceedings related to confiscation of property under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, must positively be initiated/concluded within a period of 90 days from the date of appearance of the parties concerned and the appeal/revision, if any, be also decided within a period of 30 days from the date of initiation, failing which the “things” (vehicle/property/ etc.) shall be deemed to have been released.

The new amendments propose that any person arrested under this Act shall be produced before the nearest judicial magistrate or executive magistrate within 24 hours either in person or through the medium of electronic video linkage. For seeking custody also, production of seizures will not be necessary and electronic evidence will suffice.

As per the proposed amendments, all offences shall be tried by special court(s). The state government may, if necessary, appoint in every district more special court in consultation with the chief justice of the High Court and appoint retired judges to preside over these courts.

“In cases where offences are punishable with death or imprisonment for a term not less than l0 years, the report has to be filed within 90 days from the date of the registration of the case. In all other cases, the report needs to be filed within 60 days from the date of the registration of the case,” say the amendments.

As per official statistics, nearly 25 per cent of the total pendency of cases in lower courts and 20% in the High Court is prohibition related cases.

In 2019, alarmed by the growing pendency, the Patna High Court had asked the state government to present a plan for how it plans to dispose these cases. Though special courts were mandated in the new law for trial of liquor related cases, they could not be set up. Later, the state cabinet cleared a proposal for setting up 74 special courts, but virtual hearing for the last two years further added to pendency and lack of production of witnesses.