The verdict of a full bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, Justice AK Tripathi and Justice Sudheer Singh follows a civil writ petition filed by Bihar Distillers and Bottlers Private Limited and three other companies.
In a major setback to the Bihar government, the Patna High Court (HC) on Wednesday struck down its January 24 notification prohibiting manufacturing of industrial alcohol and spirits, and directed the state government to consider the renewal of the distillery licences, which had expired on March 31, 2017.
After implementing total liquor prohibition in Bihar on April 5, 2016, the state cabinet had, on January 17, this year, decided against renewing the licences of all 21 distilleries and breweries from April 1. It included six Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) units, with a total manufacturing capacity of about 900 kilolitres per day (KLPD), which exported industrial alcohol outside Bihar.
The verdict of a full bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon, Justice AK Tripathi and Justice Sudheer Singh follows a civil writ petition filed by Bihar Distillers and Bottlers Private Limited and three other companies.
The petitioners said ENA is a non-potable highly toxic substance which is unfit for human consumption and is used as a raw material for various chemical and allied industries. They also claimed that their licences were renewed after total prohibition and the government, till much later, expressed no intent of prohibiting ENA production, for which they have set up plants at the cost of Rs 150 - 200 crore each.
The petitioners also submitted that the subject of non-potable alcohol and spirits was under the purview of the Union and beyond the competence of the state legislature or its executive.
While delivering the 80-page verdict, the court came down heavily on the state government for acting in excess of its legislative powers. "The court sets aside the January 24, 2017, notification issued by the state for preventing the right of renewal of an existing licence for production of ENA from grain-based distilleries. The Bihar government is also directed to consider the renewal of licence with the requirement of law," the ruling said.
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