The Patna High Court has said that the law banning liquor in Bihar has “given rise to unauthorised trade of liquor and other contraband items” and has become a tool for government officials to make “big money”.
The sale and consumption of alcohol has been banned in the state since April 2016 under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. However, instances of residents falling ill and dying after drinking spurious liquor are often reported from the state.
In an order on October 29, Justice Purnendu Singh said that the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act finds itself on the “wrong side of history” even though it was enacted keeping in mind Article 47 of the Constitution.
Article 47 says that the State should “endeavour to bring about prohibition” of intoxicating drinks and drugs, except for medicinal purposes. However, it is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy and is thus not legally binding.
The court made the observations while quashing a demotion order against Inspector Mukesh Kumar Paswan of the Bypass Police Station in Patna. He was demoted in November 2020 after “illicit foreign liquor” worth Rs 4 lakh was found in a raid at a godown conducted by the state excise department, according to Live Law.
The godown was located close to Paswan’s police station. He was subsequently charged with being negligent in implementing the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, which violated Rule-3(1) of the Government Official Conduct Rule.
This rule states that every government servant should maintain absolute integrity and devotion to duty, and refrain from doing anything that is unbecoming of the post.
Paswan had filed a writ petition in the court against the demotion. The bench, in its order quashing the demotion, said that it violated the principles of natural justice.
The court said: “The authorities had pre-determined to impose penalty on the petitioner and proceeded to hold quasi judicial inquiry giving the post-decisional opportunity of hearing which does not sub serve the rule of natural justice and is contrary to the principle of fair play.”
While quashing the demotion, the judge also said that the “draconian provision” banning liquor in the state had become “handy for the police, who are in tandem with the smugglers”.
The court said: “Innovative ideas to hoodwink law enforcing agency have evolved to carry and deliver the contraband. Not only the police official, excise official, but also officers of the state tax department and the transport department love liquor ban, for them it means big money.”
The number of cases registered against the kingpin or syndicate operators was few compared to the magnitude of cases filed against the “poor who consume liquor and those who fall prey to the hooch tragedy”, the court noted.
The judge said that investigating officers deliberately do not substantiate their case through legal documents and leave lacunae in the investigation.
Such gaps, the court said, allow the mafia to go scot-free for want of evidence.
Also read: In Bihar’s liquor crackdown, the poorest have been hit the hardest, while the rich are getting away
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