Bihar assembly passes bill to relax punishment for first-time offenders under liquor ban law

The Bihar Legislative Assembly on Wednesday passed the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022 which empowers the state government to impose penalties for certain categories of offences instead of direct imprisonment. The Bill permits the state government to prescribe fines, and imprisonment (in case of repeat offenders) for the consumption of liquor.

The Bill comes after the criticism of the Nitish Kumar government over the continuous increase in the number of cases pending in courts and undertrials in jails. After the amendment, the offender will be presented before a duty magistrate, which will decide the seriousness of the offence. After going through the circumstances, the magistrate can just impose a fine on the offender instead direct imprisonment, as prescribed earlier.

If the offender fails to pay the penalty then he/she will be liable to face imprisonment. This is the third amendment in the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. The first amendment to the act was brought in 2018 and then subsequently in 2020. The Bill seeks to amend the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 which enforces the complete prohibition of liquor and intoxicants in Bihar.

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