Supreme Court Allows Bihar Liquor Firms To Dispose Stock Outside State

The Supreme Court today gave time till July 31 to liquor manufacturers and sellers in Bihar to dispose of their stock outside the state. The Nitish Kumar government had banned liquor sale and consumption in Bihar from April 1, 2016.

A Supreme Court vacation bench headed by Justice AK Sikri considered the submission of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies that they were facing a huge financial loss following the liquor ban in Bihar.

The industry body told the court that their stock of liquor is worth over Rs. 200 crore, and sought the court's permission to dispose of the stock in other states where liquor consumption is not banned.

The Supreme Court then agreed to the contention and granted time till July 31 to the industry body to get rid of their unsold inventory.

"Revolutionary step"

In December 2016, terming prohibition as a "revolutionary step", Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had claimed that the move has promoted communal harmony in the state, with members of all religions supporting the liquor ban.

"The decision of liquor ban has further promoted communal harmony in Bihar as members of all religions are whole heartedly supporting alcohol ban, which is a revolutionary step," he told a gathering as part of his "Nishchay Yatra" then.

"Road accidents have come down by 19 per cent between April and November when compared to the same period last year," Mr Kumar had said.

The liquor ban has also substantially lowered rate of crimes like murder, kidnapping and riots in the state, he had said. "Cases of murder have gone down by 24 per cent between April to November this year when compared to the same period last year."