The Bihar government introduced the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, banning the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale, and consumption of liquor. However, despite its stringent provisions, incidents of liquor smuggling and hooch-related deaths persist.
Patna: The Patna High Court criticized Bihar government officials over the state’s total liquor ban, stating that they “love the legislation” as it translates to “big money” for them. The court also noted that police were colluding with liquor smugglers, while the poor bore the brunt of the prohibition law.
The Bihar government introduced the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, banning the manufacture, trade, storage, transportation, sale, and consumption of liquor. However, despite its stringent provisions, incidents of liquor smuggling and hooch-related deaths persist.
Justice Purnendu Singh, in an order, observed,
“Officials from the police, excise, state tax, and transport departments benefit financially from the prohibition. This legislation has fostered unauthorized liquor trade and other contraband activities.”
He further stated that the law’s harsh provisions have become tools for the police, who often work in tandem with smugglers.
The remarks came while the court quashed a demotion order against Mukesh Kumar Paswan, a police inspector accused of negligence in enforcing the prohibition law.
Paswan, who was the SHO at Patna Bypass police station, was suspended after foreign-made liquor was allegedly discovered in his possession during a raid. In 2020, he was demoted following a general directive by the state government. The court, however, found the punishment predetermined and deemed the departmental proceedings a mere formality.
Highlighting the disproportionate impact of the law, the court observed,
“Few cases are registered against kingpins or syndicate operators in liquor smuggling compared to the large number of cases targeting poor individuals who consume liquor or are victims of hooch tragedies.” It added that daily wagers, often the sole breadwinners of their families, suffer most under the Act.
Referring to Article 47 of the Constitution, which obligates the State to improve public health, the court noted that the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, was enacted with this intent but has faltered in its implementation. The bench also pointed out that insufficient evidence allowed the liquor mafia to evade accountability.
In its October 29 ruling, the court annulled both the punishment order and the departmental proceedings against the petitioner.
