FIRST-time "drinkers" could get away with a penalty rather than face arrest; cases can be withdrawn; a vehicle in which liquor is found may no longer be confiscated and, if it is, can be released after a fine; a section dealing with "immediate” arrest may well be deleted; bootleggers should face the brunt of the law.
These are part of a set of significant reforms envisaged in the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, according to a proposed draft of these changes. The proposed amendments come after criticism of the state government for the way it has implemented the law. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana recently flagged it as an example of “lack of foresight”. He said it had resulted in the High Court "being clogged with bail applications..."
The Bihar government is likely to amend the existing liquor law to make prohibition less stringent in the wake of recent hooch incidents in Bihar where dozens of people lost their lives. The Nitish Kumar government intends to scale down the penal provisions and introduce financial penalties. A Supreme Court bench, while staying a High Court order, had said that “Ban on liquor and fundamental rights do not go together”.
The Bihar government's amended law proposes that any person caught consuming liquor may not be directly sent to jail. Police and excise officials will have the option of releasing the person on the spot after taking a decision. A vehicle in which liquor is found may no longer be confiscated and, if it is, can be released after a fine.
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