AAP Govt offers heady liquor in pouches

A source in the excise and taxation department told The Indian Express that villagers in Punjab prefer lahan (hooch) as it has has lesser alcohol content — 50 to 60 per cent compared to 75 in IMFL — and is available in small pouches costing around Rs 25 to 40. “We have spoken to a few distilleries. They will make the pouches of light liquor available in the areas where hooch is consumed. This would avert hooch tragedies as has been reported recently from Bihar (where more than 35 people died after consuming illicit liquor),” the source said.

The Supreme Court bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar was hearing a plea arising out of a September 2020 order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that had disposed of a petition seeking transfer of some FIRs registered in Punjab in relation to distillation of spurious liquor, its sale and inter-state smuggling to the CBI.

Senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha, appearing for the state along with advocate Ajay Pal, referred to the steps taken by the authorities in the matter.

“Let us see how it progresses. We will monitor it,” the bench observed and posted the matter for hearing after winter vacations.

Earlier, the excise department in its affidavit said that it is regularly carrying out massive enforcement drives against manufacture and use of illicit homemade liquor while a mass awareness campaign, including popularising the reward scheme so that more and more informers share inputs regarding illegal manufacture and sale of hooch, will be launched soon. It said panchayats will be roped in awareness created through ‘nukkar’ meetings and announcements through village gurdwaras.

“There will be complete coordination with police department at district level and the resources like trained man power, drones and boats shall be pressed into service during cordon and search operations in illicit liquor prone areas,” it said.

It also gave details of the additional long-term measures which will be taken in near future. “All the vacant posts in the Punjab state excise force shall be filled immediately. Similarly the department will ensure that all the posts of excise inspectors as per sanctioned strength are filled,” it said.

The affidavit said as the department has already carried out some trials for use of sniffer dogs for excise enforcement purpose, it will strive hard to raise two sniffer dogs per zone (Patiala, Ferozepur and Jalandhar) in near future.

In a separate affidavit filed in the top court, the Punjab government said an Inspector General rank police officer has been nominated at the state level to monitor investigation of cases registered under the Punjab Excise Act, 1914.

It said a circular has been issued to all the field units to ensure action against manufacture, smuggling and sale of illicit liquor, which shall invariably lead to registration of a criminal case under the relevant provisions of 1914 Act or the Indian Penal Code, as the case may be.

“It has been further directed that any default in this regard shall invariably entail departmental action against the delinquent officer. It shall be obligatory on the head of the field unit to fix responsibility for any lapse in registration and investigation of crime,” the affidavit read.

The state government filed the affidavits after the Supreme Court voiced concern over the burgeoning illicit liquor trade in Punjab.

While hearing the matter on December 5, the apex court had asked the state government to fix responsibility on the local police for failing to keep vigil and also to spell out specific steps taken to curb the production and sale of illegal liquor.

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