LAW KUMAR MISHRA
PATNA: Out of 16 lakh court cases pending in Bihar courts,three lakhs are related to violation of Bihar Excise Act,2015.Over two lakh people have been arrested on charges of violation of prohibition laws.Bihar chief minister,Nitish Kumar,who reviewed the pendency of prohibition cases from special Excise courts to Patna High Court two days back,claimed it was a social revolution and asked the officers to continue raids and drives against the people consuming liquor.
Nitish seemed not bothered about the criticism of the Patna High Court on the large number of cases related to prohibition offences .On Saturday,while addressing the meeting of excise officers,Nitish directed the officers to concentrate on catching consumers .He issued directions to the police DG to take affidavits from the officers-in-charge to ensure total ban on liquor and strict enforcement of prohibition .DG of police has been asked to associate the elected representatives of the panchayati raj system in anti-liquor campaign,identifying the consumers and traders in their respective areas.Senior police officers were asked to devote atleast 30 minutes from their official routine on monitoring enforcement of prohibition.Antecedents of the liquor traders are being investigated-what was their business earlier as liquor trade has now become the most flourshing trade in Bihar with truck loads of liquor coming from far off places,like Haryana also.Bihar government in its affidavit in High Court admitted 82 lakh litres of IMFL have been seized.
Police stations priority is on seizure of liquor ,apprehending the traders and arresting consumers-either from the hotels,restaurants or their residences.There is a spurt in heinous crimes all over the state,loot of banks and finance companies,robbery in finance companies, kidnapping and murder for
ransom.
Police men are getting more marks for catching liquor consumers.Taking advantage of the section 48 of Bihar Excise Act’s “Presumption ” clause,Buxar district police arrested Manoj Kumar Singh and Vinay Kumar and two of his associates as they were found consuming liquor
on their Face Book posts.Police claimed they found the photos of the four on their face book boasting consuming liquor.They were arrested and sent to jail,
They approached the Patna High Court seeking bail after they spent months in Buxar jail and claimed they had neither consumer liquor nor displayed bottles.Police did not conduct breath analyser tests nor seized the bottles,.Buxar Muffasil ;police station inspector claimed he arrested them after someone sent a clip of the face book posts.Under the Bihar Excise Act,police are empowered to arrest on charges of presumption as to commission of the offence.It is more dreaded than making preparation for dacoity.
Justice Ashwini Kumar Singh of Patna High court ordered their release and issued a directive to the state government to make the inspector,officer-in-charge and investigating officer accused for harassing the appealants without sufficiet evidence and investigation.
While hdearing another case,Justice Anil Kumar Upadhya commented in his order”The figure of pendency of cases indicate that it has reached an alarming proportion and in the absence of adequate courts,judicial officers and support staff,the case management is impossible.
The court quoted an affidavit filed by the principal secretary(home) and said 1.70 lakh people have been arrested.Prohibition cases have increased the burden of the courts manifold and asked the home secretary to assist Patna High Court to inform”as to how the state government wishes to tackle with the problem of increased litigation,:The problem of increased litigation has telling effect on the docket management.”Justice Upadhaya said.
Chief Justice Sanjay Karol,who heard ,bail peititions filed by some prohibition offenders languishing in jails,said”there are 40,000( forty thousands) bail petitions of the accused arrested under Bihar Excise Act pending before High Court”.
The court expressed surprise over absence of infrastructure to deal with prohibition cases .He ordered to create more space,more special courts and appoint judicial officers to deal exclusively with prohibition cases.”Innocent people are being caught since imposition of prohibition:,court commented .Justice Karol was recently transferred from Tripura High Court to Patna High Court.
Advocate General,Lalit Kishore informed the court that state government had sent a proposal for creation of 74 special courts for prohibition offences on September 9.The court agreed to sanction the new courts within 48 hours.Bihar government has now proposed to appoint retired judicial officers in these courts and create fabricated structures for court buildings .
According to the affidavit of the state government,,so far only 2629 cases have been disposed off.This year,34526 fresh cases of prohibition violation were filed in different courts in 37 districts of the state.In Patna excise court,22661 cases were filed this year and only eleven disposed off.Patna’s Beur central Jail is crowded with the prohibition offenders,many of them visiting Bihar for the first time .One Chienese engineer was caught and sent to jail for possession liquor..In a hotel at Gandhi maidan,the tne barrat party members coming from Surat were booked while drinking in their rooms and sent to jail.A minimum 15 days stay in jail is common for the prohibition offenders.
