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A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into a recent hooch tragedy in Bihar, in which at least 30 people have lost their lives.
The Saran hooch tragedy toll climbed to 30 on Friday, the highest since Bihar went dry more than six years ago.
Saran district magistrate Rajesh Meena told PTI over the phone that the number of people who have died in the tragedy since Tuesday night has gone up to 30.
However, unconfirmed reports claim that around 50 people have died after consuming illicitly-brewed country liquor.
The petition, filed in the apex court by Bihar-based Aryavarta Mahasabha Foundation, has also sought a direction to the state government to adequately compensate the victims' families.
The plea was mentioned for urgent listing before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha, which refused to list it urgently.
The bench told advocate Pawan Prakash Pathak, who mentioned the matter, that the petitioner has to go through the proper process for the listing of the case.
Friday is the last working day for the top court before it goes on a two-week winter break. The apex court will reopen on January 2.
Sale and consumption of alcohol were completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016.
The plea filed in the top court has listed the Centre and the state of Bihar as party respondents.
It said a multi-pronged plan is needed to prevent the sale and consumption of toxic alcohol.
It has sought a direction to the respondent to formulate a national action plan to curb the manufacturing, trading and sale of illicit liquor.
The plea said the hooch tragedy in Bihar on December 14 has "caused a furore" in the country.
"With political parties training their guns on each other, as many as 40 people have died so far after consuming spurious liquor, while others have been hospitalised and there is no official report on the incident," the plea claimed.
It said this is not the first time that India has reported an incident of people dying after consuming spurious liquor and similar cases were reported from various states, including Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, in recent years.
"Hooch is a kind of liquor which is cheap, brewed in small unregulated shanties and does not attract excise tax. This inferior quality drink is usually made after mixing chemicals with water, which is then consumed by people," it said.
The plea said it is more so commonly sold in the states that have imposed a full ban on liquor.
It said currently, four states -- Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Mizoram -- have laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol and the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 was enacted to enforce a complete prohibition of liquor in the state.
"Under the Act, manufacturing, bottling, distribution, transportation, collection, storage, possession, purchase, sale or consumption of any intoxicant or liquor is prohibited. From 2018 to 2020, over 45,000 FIRs were registered under the Act every year," it says.
The petition pointed out that in February, the apex court had observed that trial courts in Bihar and the Patna high court are being crowded by bail applications in matters under the 2016 Act.
It said the Directive Principles of State Policy under the Constitution provide that the State shall endeavour to prohibit the consumption (except for medicinal purposes) of intoxicating drinks and drugs that are injurious to health.
The plea said ever since the Bihar government prohibited liquor sales in the state in 2016, it has invited scathing criticism for its substantial failure to implement the ban and for several adverse consequences that the move has thrust on the people there.
"What is not implementable may not be operationalised despite the nobility of the cause. Bihar has failed to apply this simple test in the present instance," it said.
It further said recently, a question was raised on the issue in the Lok Sabha but no effective steps are being taken to curb the menace of the liquor mafia and cartels running the show.
The plea said according to the Lok Sabha data released on July 19, five states, including Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, reported the maximum number of deaths due to consumption of spurious liquor between 2016 and 2020.
"According to the data, India reported over 6,000 deaths in five years between 2016 and 2020 due to the consumption of spurious liquor. India logged the lowest number of deaths in 2020 with 947," it said, alleging that of the estimated five billion (500 crore) litres of alcohol consumed every year in the country, about 40 per cent is illegally produced and cheap, locally-made liquor is common in parts of rural India.