Spirit
The Patna High Court, while quashing the demotion order passed against a police inspector for negligence in enforcing the prohibition law, observed that these provisions have become useful to the police, who work in collaboration with smugglers. Justice Purnendu Singh, in a judgment delivered on October 29, said: “Not only police officers and excise officials but also officials of the Commercial Tax Department and the Transport Department prefer a ban. For them it means a lot of money. In fact, prohibition has promoted unauthorized trade in liquor and other prohibited items. “These strict provisions have become a convenient tool for police working in collaboration with smugglers.”
SHO suspended after liquor recovered
The order came in response to a court petition filed by Mukesh Kumar Paswan, who was serving as Station House Officer (SHO) at Patna Bypass police station. Paswan was suspended after state excise department officials recovered foreign liquor during a raid. Paswan was demoted by the state government on November 24, 2020, despite presenting a defense during the investigation and claiming his innocence. In April 2016, the Nitish Kumar government banned the sale and consumption of liquor in Bihar. The court said: “Very few cases are registered against kingpins or syndicate operators involved in liquor smuggling, while a large number of cases are registered against poor liquor consumers or victims of alcohol-related tragedies. In terms general, but, It is the poor of the state who bear the brunt of this law.
What else did the High Court say?
The Court held that Article 47 of the Constitution of India prescribes the duty of the State to raise the standard of living and improve general public health and as such the State Government has enacted the Excise and Prohibition Act. Bihar with such an objective in mind. 2016, but for various reasons, (the law) is on the wrong side of history. The Court said that those who bear the brunt of this law are the daily wage earners who are the only earning members of their families. The court stated that the investigators do not corroborate the accusations made in the process with any legal document and that legal loopholes are left through which the mafia goes free due to lack of evidence.
The High Court said that the departmental procedure has remained a mere formality. Apart from quashing the penalty order, the court also quashed the departmental proceedings initiated against the petitioner. (with language inputs)
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