If liquor is found in your neighbourhood, you need not worry. But if a bottle of wine, whiskey, rum, gin, vodka or beer is found from a house, all its adult members, both male and female, would be rounded up. This is the provision in the amended Act on prohibition which has been approved by the Bihar Cabinet. The Bill is likely to be produced in the legislature during the Monsoon Session.
All the loopholes in the Prohibition and Excise Act have been removed, said officials, adding the provision of the anticipatory bail is withdrawn and any violation of the Act would be non-bailable offence. Total prohibition was enforced in Bihar on April 5.
The new Act was promulgated three months ago but due to some loopholes the violators had been getting bails as the court found that merely possession of liquor was no crime.
On the alibi of Section 79 of the Act, they were easily getting bail. But in the amended law, this Section has been removed. With the addition of sections 30 and 32, all the adults of the house would be liable to be arrested. They could be released only after they prove they were not involved in the crime.
The adults arrested for recovery of liquor would bear the onus of proving them not guilty. One more Section would be added which provides a minimum of 10 years jail term for involving children and female members of the family in the illicit liquor trade. Recently, many children and women were caught stealthily carrying liquor in trains and buses.
After the passage of the Bill from them legislature and assent of the Governor, the new Act would come into effect possibly from the first week of August.