Bihar ex-CM urges governor to refuse assent to prohibition bill

A few days after RJD vice-president and former Union minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh criticised Nitish Kumar for bringing in the draconian prohibition law in Bihar, former chief minister Jagannath Mishra appealed to the governor to refuse his assent to the proposed law.

Mishra urged Bihar Governor Ram Nath Kovind to invoke Article 200 of the Constitution and refuse his assent to the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016, on the ground that it is “cruel, curtailed personal liberty, and promoted hatred towards law and extortion by enforcement officials.”

In a memorandum submitted to the highest constitutional authority in the state, Mishra said that “the new provisions violated the Indian Penal Code and criminal jurisprudence by bringing in a new theory by which people would be punished for crimes committed by others, thereby making criminals out of innocent families, communities and companies”.

Mishra, who had served as chief minister thrice and once as a Union minister, wrote to the governor: “You will agree that whenever personal liberty is curtailed, it leads to an increase in incidents of suppression and injustice. You are well versed with the Constitution, hence I request you to hold assent to the bill under Article 200 of the Constitution in the public interest or reserve it for presidential assent.”

Mishra further pointed out that in such a situation, the president, under Article 201 of the Constitution, can decide whether assent should be given or not to such a bill.

The controversial prohibition bill in Bihar is under sharp criticism ever since the provision was inserted that all members of a family, above the age of 18 years, would be jailed if liquor is found in the house.