Once the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022 comes to force, the first-time offenders will get bail from the duty magistrate upon paying an amount of fine.
Patna: A day after the Bihar government tabled the amendments to the liquor law of the state, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, while engaging in a debate on the amendments, said those who drink are mahapaapis (sinners) and not Indians.
Evoking the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and saying that he too was against liquor, Kumar said, “Those who do not adhere to the principles of the Father of the Nation, I do not consider them to be Indians…they are mahapaapi.”
“Liquor has ill effects on one’s health and people should gradually understand this,” he said. The Chief Minister also said that ever since there has been a ban on liquor in the state, there has been an increase in the production of vegetables. “If a person stops wasting money on liquor, he is bound to have money for good things…Ask the women how helpful the ban has been,” Kumar said.
Once the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2022 comes to force, the first-time offenders will get bail from the duty magistrate upon paying an amount of fine. However, if one fails to cough up the fine amount, he or she will have to face a jail term of one month.
The amendments came amid heightened Opposition salvos against the backdrop of at least 60 deaths due at least a dozen incidents of hooch tragedy. On Thursday, Kumar also made it clear that no compensation will be given to the families of those who die after consuming liquor.
Recently, even the Supreme Court had also remarked that the liquor law was affecting the judiciary in Bihar as the judges of the Patna High Court are busy clearing only cases related to the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
