Liquor ban: Over 200,000 cases pile-up, irked Patna HC raps Bihar govt

The HC has asked the Bihar government to explain the details of the infrastructure and mechanism it plans to develop to deal with mounting prohibition-related cases

Bihar government's alcohol ban in the state may or may not have delivered desired results yet, but the move has put a huge burden on the judiciary.

The judiciary, already burdened with a large number of pending cases, has to now settle over 200,000 prohibition-related cases, including nearly 40,000 bail petitions pending with the Patna High Court.

The HC has asked Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government to explain the details of the infrastructure and mechanism it plans to develop to deal with mounting prohibition-related cases, according to a news report in The Times of India.

"In how many such cases has the state government appealed the high court's order in the Supreme Court?," a bench asked advocate general Lalit Kishore.

In reply, the advocate general said the state government had moved the SC on several occasions but he didn't mention the number of cases.

The bench also sought to know what action the Bihar government has taken to pursue the cases filed in the SC challenging the enforcement of prohibition in the state.

Till date, 167,000 people have been arrested on charges of violating the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 and more than 5 lakh litres of alcohol have been seized, the report said.