Patna HC declares Section 76(2) of Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act unconstitutional
Patna,(BiharTimes): Terming Section 76(2)of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act as unconstitutional a division bench comprising Justice K K Mandal and Justice Madhuresh Prasad bench of the Patna High Court on Monday ruled that those made accused in a case related to liquor should be granted anticipatory bail.
According to the Act formulated by the Bihar government, an accused in a prohibition case cannot be granted anticipatory bail.
Earlier, a single-judge bench of the Patna High Court had said that anticipatory bail could> not be granted to an accused unless the Section is termed as unconstitutional.
The Monday ruling also said that if a lower court denies bail to an accused in prohibition case, it would have to specify the grounds on which it was rejected.
It needs to be recalled that in 2016, the Patna High Court had imposed a stay on the alcohol ban law brought in by the Nitish Kumar government. It had then nullified the state government’s order issued in April 2016, which had declared Bihar a dry state.
