HC takes govt to task on excise policy

patna: a division bench of the patna high court comprising chief justice ravi s dhavan and justice d p s chaudhary, while directing the government to take into account people’s sensitivity as enjoined under the excise rules of the state, censured the government on tuesday for taking an adversarial position on a pil on the issue. the bench directed the government to form a committee of eminent citizens to elicit public opinion and inform the court after the holi vacation.chief secretary s n biswas, excise commissioner alok sinha and law secretary rajendra prasad were present in the court. the bench observed that the constitution anyhow tolerates consumption of alcohol rather than encouraging it. taxation can be used as a measure of controlling alcohol consumption but the theme of the excise act is not “boorish business�, it maintained. it suggested a number of measures like regulating the timing and period of sale, examining the issue of age of legal drinking, spacing of liquor shops and seeking people’s opinion before giving licence for a liquor shop. the bench called for building up a secure environment in the state so that people may express their opinions without fear of retribution as the liquor business has passed into the hands of “powerful people�. stressing the need for overhauling the government’s present excise policy, the bench said it echoes the exploitative opium policy of the british raj. quoting from the rules which permit drinking from sunrise itself, the bench said no other state in the country allows this. observing that the state cannot abjure its civic responsibility and encourage drinking even if it brings revenue, the court observed that the power to grant licence enjoins a responsibility on the government to be sensitive to public opinion. drawing the attention of the government to many “anachronistic remnants� of the past which it has not bothered to update, the bench said this signifies the casual attitude of the government. the rules still use the word “aborigine�, which is highly insulting to the class of citizens it refers to, maintained the bench, adding that it is unconstitutional too. the bench commented that the government in independent india has just copied and expanded on the excise policy drawn up during the british raj when mass production of alcohol was yet to become a reality. the bench said that though an adult should not be told how to live as the present laws do in an overbearing manner, the policy will have to take into account the sensitivity of the local people. the bench observed that the government needs to examine whether revenue from the liquor trade is so important that it can allow vending shops near places like schools, colleges, religious institutions and hospitals.