The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Bihar government to respond to petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of its controversial prohibition law — The Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 — within three weeks.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and C T Ravikumar also transferred similar petitions pending before Patna High Court to the SC. The court said that since “identical issue is pending consideration before this court, it is appropriate that the other writ petitions filed before the High Court to be transferred and heard along with the SLP pending here”.
Hearing the petitions, including one by the International Spirits and Wines Association of India, the bench said all of them question the validity of the prohibition law. “The reply has been filed before Patna High Court and now it cannot be improved,” it said.
“You file your affidavit. Same arguments, same affidavit and same material will be relevant in all cases, as the validity is under challenge in all of them.”
The court will now hear the matter in the first week of April.
While rejecting 40 appeals filed by the state government against grant of anticipatory and regular bail by the HC to those charged under the law, a bench headed by CJI N V Ramana had on January 11 expressed concern over the impact of the law on the working of the courts.