Bihar liquor ban: Apex court to hear plea of companies seeking time to dispose old stocks

A person buying liquor from a liquor shop/File photo

New Delhi: The apex Court will hear the plea of certain liquor manufacturers from Bihar, seeking extension of time to dispose of their old stocks. Several liquor manufacturers approached the Supreme Court seeking an extension of the May 31 deadline for moving liquor stocks out of the state. The apex court, earlier on May 21,  refused to extend license of four liquor companies in Bihar and also asked the Patna High Court to constitute a bench and hear the matter in a time bound manner and dispose it by May 10. Seeking an extension of their licenses and hear their pleas, four liquor companies had knocked the doors of the top court. The bench, however, headed by Justice Dipak Misra refused to grant any relief to the four companies. In January, the Bihar Government had moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of plea against the liquor ban legislation from the Patna High Court because companies had earlier moved the Patna High Court against the liquor ban. Banning sale and consumption of alcohol, including Indian-Made Foreign Liquor ( IMFL) as well as spiced and domestic liquor, the new legislation,  prescribes harsher punishment for possession and consumption of alcohol. The SC, in October 2016, had stayed the Patna High Court's order, quashing the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state. The SC had admitted CM Nitish Kumar-led Bihar Government's plea. It also issued notice to Confederation of Alcoholic Beverage Companies. The Nitish government had moved the SC challenging the High Court's order of striking down the Bihar Prohibition of Liquor Act.