Bihar CM introduces new Liquor Law
posted on Oct 2, 2016 @ 6:20PM
The Chief Minister of Bihar in reference to the liquor ban said, "The Bihar Excise & Prohibition Act, 2016 will come into force from October 2 and total liquor ban will continue in Bihar. The high court order was related to the old Act that came into force in April this year". Two days after the Patna High Court declared the liquor ban in Bihar illegal, the Nitish Kumar government notified a new prohibition law in the state on Gandhi Jayanti.
Legal experts pointed out that the new law has stringent provisions for ensuring a total ban on consumption of liquor in the state. If it is implemented, all adult members of the family would be arrested if liquor is found stored in any household. "Now people are not wasting money on alcohol like before, that money is being used in better ways and financial situation is improving," CM Nitish Kumar said at a press conference in Patna.
"Liquor consumption is a social stigma," the Bihar chief minister said, adding that prohibition would improve society. All previous excise laws, including the one quashed by the high court on Friday, "would be repealed with the enforcement of the new Act," the chief minister said.