Patna High Court quashes notification banning liquor, says its 'illegal'

PATNA: In a setback to the Bihar government, the Patna High Court today quashed the government notification completing banning liquor in the state, saying it is ultra vires to the Constitution. A division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari and Justice Navaniti Prasad Singh quashed the April 5 notification of the state government to stop consumption and sale of alcohol in the state. The April 5 notification is ultra vires to the Constitution, hence not enforceable, the court said in its verdict. The same bench had on May 20 reserved its order on a batch of writ petitions filed by Liquor Trade Association and many individuals challenging the liquor law in Bihar brought by Nitish Kumar government with stringent penal provisions. The Nitish Kumar-led Grand Secular Alliance government had first banned the manufacture, trade, sale, consumption of country-made liquor since April 1, but later imposed a blanket ban on all types of liquor including foreign liquor in the state.