Plea in SC seeks SIT probe into Bihar hooch tragedy, compensation for victims’ kin
7 min readBy PTI
NEW DELHI: A petition has been filed within the Supreme Court, looking for an impartial probe by a particular investigation workforce (SIT) right into a current hooch tragedy in Bihar, wherein not less than 30 individuals have misplaced their lives.
The Saran hooch tragedy toll climbed to 30 on Friday, the best since Bihar went dry greater than six years in the past.
Saran District Magistrate Rajesh Meena instructed PTI over the telephone that the quantity of people that have died within the tragedy since Tuesday night time has gone as much as 30.
However, unconfirmed experiences declare that round 50 individuals have died after consuming illicitly-brewed nation liquor.
The petition, filed within the apex courtroom by Bihar-based Aryavarta Mahasabha Foundation, has additionally sought a route to the state authorities to adequately compensate the victims’ households.
The plea was talked about for pressing itemizing earlier than a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, which refused to listing it urgently.
The bench instructed advocate Pawan Prakash Pathak, who talked about the matter, that the petitioner has to undergo the right course of for the itemizing of the case.
Friday is the final working day for the highest courtroom earlier than it goes on a two-week winter break.
The apex courtroom will reopen on January 2.
Sale and consumption of alcohol have been utterly banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar authorities in April 2016.
The plea filed within the prime courtroom has arrayed the Centre and the state of Bihar as get together respondents.
It mentioned a multi-pronged plan is required to stop the sale and consumption of poisonous alcohol.
It has sought a route to the respondent to formulate a nationwide motion plan to curb the manufacturing, buying and selling and sale of illicit liquor.
The plea mentioned the hooch tragedy in Bihar on December 14 has “caused a furore” within the nation.
ALSO READ | Crores of individuals drink in nation, ought to they die: Sushil Modi asks Nitish Kumar
“With political parties training their guns on each other, as many as 40 people have died so far after consuming spurious liquor, while others have been hospitalised and there is no official report on the incident,” the plea claimed.
It mentioned this isn’t the primary time that India has reported an incident of individuals dying after consuming spurious liquor and related instances have been reported from numerous states, together with Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, lately.
“Hooch is a kind of liquor which is cheap, brewed in small unregulated shanties and does not attract excise tax. This inferior quality drink is usually made after mixing chemicals with water, which is then consumed by people,” it mentioned.
The plea mentioned it’s extra so generally bought within the states which have imposed a full ban on liquor.
It mentioned presently, 4 states — Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Mizoram — have legal guidelines that prohibit the sale of alcohol and the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 was enacted to implement an entire prohibition of liquor within the state.
“Under the Act, manufacturing, bottling, distribution, transportation, assortment, storage, possession, buy, sale or consumption of any intoxicant or liquor is prohibited.
From 2018 to 2020, over 45,000 FIRs have been registered underneath the Act yearly,” it says.
The petition identified that in February, the apex courtroom had noticed that trial courts in Bihar and the Patna High Court are being crowded by bail purposes in issues underneath the 2016 Act.
It mentioned the Directive Principles of State Policy underneath the Constitution present that the State shall endeavour to ban the consumption (apart from medicinal functions) of intoxicating drinks and medicines which might be injurious to well being.
The plea mentioned ever for the reason that Bihar authorities prohibited liquor gross sales within the state in 2016, it has invited scathing criticism for its substantial failure to implement the ban and for a number of adversarial penalties that the transfer has thrust on the individuals there.
“What is not implementable may not be operationalised despite the nobility of the cause. Bihar has failed to apply this simple test in the present instance,” it mentioned.
It additional mentioned just lately, a query was raised on the difficulty within the Lok Sabha however no efficient steps are being taken to curb the menace of the liquor mafia and cartels working the present.
The plea mentioned in keeping with the Lok Sabha information launched on July 19, 5 states, together with Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, reported the utmost variety of deaths as a result of consumption of spurious liquor between 2016 and 2020.
“According to the data, India reported over 6,000 deaths in five years between 2016 and 2020 due to the consumption of spurious liquor. India logged the lowest number of deaths in 2020 with 947,” it mentioned, alleging that of the estimated 5 billion (500 crore) litres of alcohol consumed yearly within the nation, about 40 per cent is illegally produced and low cost, locally-made liquor is frequent in components of rural India.
NEW DELHI: A petition has been filed within the Supreme Court, looking for an impartial probe by a particular investigation workforce (SIT) right into a current hooch tragedy in Bihar, wherein not less than 30 individuals have misplaced their lives.
The Saran hooch tragedy toll climbed to 30 on Friday, the best since Bihar went dry greater than six years in the past.
Saran District Magistrate Rajesh Meena instructed PTI over the telephone that the quantity of people that have died within the tragedy since Tuesday night time has gone as much as 30.
However, unconfirmed experiences declare that round 50 individuals have died after consuming illicitly-brewed nation liquor.
The petition, filed within the apex courtroom by Bihar-based Aryavarta Mahasabha Foundation, has additionally sought a route to the state authorities to adequately compensate the victims’ households.
The plea was talked about for pressing itemizing earlier than a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, which refused to listing it urgently.
The bench instructed advocate Pawan Prakash Pathak, who talked about the matter, that the petitioner has to undergo the right course of for the itemizing of the case.
Friday is the final working day for the highest courtroom earlier than it goes on a two-week winter break.
The apex courtroom will reopen on January 2.
Sale and consumption of alcohol have been utterly banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar authorities in April 2016.
The plea filed within the prime courtroom has arrayed the Centre and the state of Bihar as get together respondents.
It mentioned a multi-pronged plan is required to stop the sale and consumption of poisonous alcohol.
It has sought a route to the respondent to formulate a nationwide motion plan to curb the manufacturing, buying and selling and sale of illicit liquor.
The plea mentioned the hooch tragedy in Bihar on December 14 has “caused a furore” within the nation.
ALSO READ | Crores of individuals drink in nation, ought to they die: Sushil Modi asks Nitish Kumar
“With political parties training their guns on each other, as many as 40 people have died so far after consuming spurious liquor, while others have been hospitalised and there is no official report on the incident,” the plea claimed.
It mentioned this isn’t the primary time that India has reported an incident of individuals dying after consuming spurious liquor and related instances have been reported from numerous states, together with Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, lately.
“Hooch is a kind of liquor which is cheap, brewed in small unregulated shanties and does not attract excise tax. This inferior quality drink is usually made after mixing chemicals with water, which is then consumed by people,” it mentioned.
The plea mentioned it’s extra so generally bought within the states which have imposed a full ban on liquor.
It mentioned presently, 4 states — Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Mizoram — have legal guidelines that prohibit the sale of alcohol and the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 was enacted to implement an entire prohibition of liquor within the state.
“Under the Act, manufacturing, bottling, distribution, transportation, assortment, storage, possession, buy, sale or consumption of any intoxicant or liquor is prohibited.
From 2018 to 2020, over 45,000 FIRs have been registered underneath the Act yearly,” it says.
The petition identified that in February, the apex courtroom had noticed that trial courts in Bihar and the Patna High Court are being crowded by bail purposes in issues underneath the 2016 Act.
It mentioned the Directive Principles of State Policy underneath the Constitution present that the State shall endeavour to ban the consumption (apart from medicinal functions) of intoxicating drinks and medicines which might be injurious to well being.
The plea mentioned ever for the reason that Bihar authorities prohibited liquor gross sales within the state in 2016, it has invited scathing criticism for its substantial failure to implement the ban and for a number of adversarial penalties that the transfer has thrust on the individuals there.
“What is not implementable may not be operationalised despite the nobility of the cause. Bihar has failed to apply this simple test in the present instance,” it mentioned.
It additional mentioned just lately, a query was raised on the difficulty within the Lok Sabha however no efficient steps are being taken to curb the menace of the liquor mafia and cartels working the present.
The plea mentioned in keeping with the Lok Sabha information launched on July 19, 5 states, together with Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, reported the utmost variety of deaths as a result of consumption of spurious liquor between 2016 and 2020.
“According to the data, India reported over 6,000 deaths in five years between 2016 and 2020 due to the consumption of spurious liquor. India logged the lowest number of deaths in 2020 with 947,” it mentioned, alleging that of the estimated 5 billion (500 crore) litres of alcohol consumed yearly within the nation, about 40 per cent is illegally produced and low cost, locally-made liquor is frequent in components of rural India.
