India Supreme Court grants extension to move alcohol out of state News
India Supreme Court grants extension to move alcohol out of state

[JURIST] The India Supreme Court [official webite] on Monday granted [Times of India report] a two-month extension to liquor companies currently holding alcohol in the state of Bihar [official website], directing them to transport all alcohol out of the state by July 31. Originally, the Court ordered the companies to dispose of all their inventory by May 31 but had failed to meet that deadline due to bureaucratic hindrances. Kapil Sibal [official website], lawyer for the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverages Companies, stated in its petition:

For reasons beyond their control, [the liquor companies] will not be able to remove a majority of their stocks from Bihar. The proposed destination states, where the liquor was to be exported, are taking long time to issue import permit and the companies have to obtain export permit from Bihar also. The process is taking time and the liquor stocks cannot be taken out of state till the companies get all clearances.

The state government had opposed the extension because the continued presence of alcohol within the state could lead to illegal trading. The Court was unconvinced by the state’s opposition as all existing stocks are being held in “the custody of the state government” until they can be transported out. The question of the constitutionality of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act of 2016 [text, Nyaaya] banning the consumption and sale of alcoholic beverages is currently before the India Supreme Court, awaiting an answer.

Alcohol-related laws and regulations have been undergoing changes in the US and worldwide over the past year. In March the Utah House of Representatives [official website] passed [JURIST report] an alcohol reform bill aimed at removing what is referred to as the “Zion Curtain,” a 7-foot-tall barrier, shielding children from watching drinks being mixed in restaurants. The bill, HB442 [text], which was passed by the House by a 58-10 vote and awaiting Utah Senate approval, aims to allow restaurants to utilize alternatives to the Zion Curtain including placing the bar in a separate room and providing a no-children buffer area within 10-feet of the bar. In October, the Iraq Parliament [official website, in Arabic] approved a law [JURIST report] “forbidding the import, manufacture and sale of all kinds of alcohol drinks.” Until that time, alcohol was made readily available in shops, bars, restaurant and hotels in Baghdad and some of the provinces of Iraq, and it was not unusual for young people in Baghdad to be observed drinking. In June 2016 the US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that state governments can require suspected drunk drivers to undergo a blood alcohol test without a warrant but could not require them to take a blood test. In October 2015 the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled [JURIST report] that an officer must obtain a warrant to test the blood of a person suspected of driving while intoxicated (DWI).