Liquor might dominate the shops of Bihar, once again

The stringent liquor laws in the state of Bihar might soon be a thing of the past. An amendment bill is likely to be passed in the next session of the Assembly next month. This was confirmed by one of the senior official of the government who mentioned that, " Due to the allegations of "ineffective implementation" of the prohibition law and recent hooch tragedies in Bihar, the state government is planning to amend the legislation to make it less stringent."

The amendment will most likely propose that, In case a person is caught drunk for the first time may, he won't be arrested but let off after payment of a fine on the spot. The government might bring certain changes in the "Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016." This was also confirmed by a senior government official.

Arvind Kumar Singh, an official spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janta Party, criticised the current government and said, “If the liquor prohibition has failed in Bihar, it is due to officers who are not strictly enforcing it and are using it to extort money.” The apex court of the country, the Supreme Court also recently remarked that the liquor law was impacting the functioning of the judiciary in Bihar. This was also witnessed by the fact that out of the total judges in the Patna High Court, around 14-15 Patna High Judges were hearing the bail pleas relating to arrests made under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. The act which was meant to bring merit, isn't been used fruitfully and turning in a demerit, the opposition parties stated due to which the current government is considering revising the Act.