Law Kumar Mishra
High Court had kept the order reserved since May 20 after hearing the petitioners who included some physicians, liquor traders and manufacturers. The state government had imposed ban on wholesale or retail trade and consumption of foreign liquor by any licence holder or any person with immediate effect. Since April, over 15,000 people including two legislators, 50 serving and retired armymen were arrested by police and excise officials. On charges of misuse of the Act, an excise official too was arrested in Nalanda district.
Chief minister Nitish Kumar has convened an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday to discuss the implications of the High Court order. He summoned his senior ministers, state JD(U) president Bashistha Narain Singh and additional principal advocate general at his residence. Chief secretary A K Singh and excise commissioner A K Das were also called at the meeting. After the meeting, the state JD(U) president said the chief minister has said the new excise Act will be implemented from October 2 and the liquor ban will continue. He said the High Court had declared the April 5 notification as ultra vires.
On August 1, the Bihar legislature had passed another legislation to enforce prohibition and Governnor Ramnath Kovind gave his assent to the Bill on September 7. The chief secretary also claimed liquor ban would continue under the provisions of the new Act.
The Bill passed in August is stringent than April law as under the new law, death sentence has been prescribed for offences under the Act. In the new Act, there are 100 sections. The August legislation has not been challenged in the court, the government clarified.