Failure of authorities to implement complete prohibition in Bihar has led to an overburdened judiciary and a sharp increase in drug addiction and consumption of deadlier adulterated liquor, which poses a risk to the lives of people, the Patna High Court has observed.
“After liquor ban was imposed, many started looking for substitute. Drugs, being on supply route, made an easy entry into the state amid the lack of vigilance. Data shows that before 2015, there was hardly any case related to drugs, but post 2015, such cases have seen an alarming surge. What is more worrying trend is that most addicts are as young as 10 years and below 25 years of age. The statistics shows that the addiction for ganja charas/bhang has shot up post prohibition. The state has failed to stop trafficking of drugs throughout Bihar,” the court observed while hearing a bail petition, details of which were uploaded on the HC website on Tuesday.
“Bihar has also seen a rising trend of manufacturing and smuggling of liquor due to the deliberate inaction of the state officials,” said the single-member bench of Justice Purnendu Singh, who referred the matter before the Chief Justice of the Patna HC to take cognizance for instituting a public interest litigation (PIL).
The bench also cited the Supreme Court order, which had directed the state government to collect number of prosecutions for flouting the liquor ban and cases pending in different courts, including the HC.
The court said the prohibition regime was pushing the consumption of cheaper hooch and drugs, leading to thriving parallel economy of illicit liquor and a sharp rise in cases of consumption of drugs.
“The consumers of illicit liquor laced with methyl alcohol have lost their life in lakhs in the state. Scientific report shows that 5 ml of methyl alcohol is enough to make one go blind and more than 10 ml is quite often fatal. Some of the other side effects include acidosis, a condition in which body tends to produce a lot of acid and kidneys fail to remove or flush them out of the body. The state government has failed to develop a standard operating protocol to treat patients so affected. The life of the people has been put at great risk not only by spurious liquor but also by the rampant use of illicit drugs,” the bench said.
Total prohibition was imposed in Bihar in April 2016.
