Penalty for consumption of liquor
Section 37 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 deals with penalty for consumption of liquor. Whoever, in contravention of this Act or the rules, notification or order made there under - (a) consumes liquor or intoxicant in any place;
Whoever, in contravention of this Act or the rules, notification or order made there under - (a) consumes liquor or intoxicant in any place; or (b) is found drunk or in a state of drunkenness at any place; or (c) drinks and creates nuisance or violence at any place including in his own house or premises; or (d) permits or facilitates drunkenness or allows assembly of drunkenelements in his own house or premises; shall be punishable, (1) in case of an offence falling under clause (a) and (b), with a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to seven years and with fine, which shall not be less than one lakh rupees which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
(2) In case of an offence falling under clause (c) and (d), with a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and with fine, which shall not be less than one lakh rupees which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
Explanation (a)- "Consuming intoxicant" includes consumption of any medicine or any ingredient of a medicine or medicinal preparation that may have an intoxicating effect.
Explanation (b)- "drunkenness" includes drunkenness due to any medicine or medicinal preparation.
Section 37, Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 (Act 20 of 2016).
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Surendra Rai vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Recovery of foreign liquor from the residence of an accused person, even if not in conscious possession, constitutes sufficient grounds to reject an anticipatory bail application in cases involving violation of prohibition laws, as the material evidence of the offense outweighs claims of innocence and absence of criminal antecedents.
On this section: Offence related to excise violations - secondary charge in the FIR
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 37
What have the courts held on Section 37 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act?
Surendra Rai vs The State of Bihar (25 Jul 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Offence related to excise violations - secondary charge in the FIR.
How do I find court cases under Section 37 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 37, section 37 Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, section 37 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Surendra Rai vs The State of Bihar (25 Jul 2022).
When was the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act enacted?
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act was enacted in 2016 as Act 20 of 2016. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions-In this Act, unless otherwise required in the context2273 words
- 95. Power of the State Government to make rules474 words
- 90. Application of certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973392 words
- 34. Penalty for mixing noxious substance with liquor385 words
- 30. Penalty for unlawful import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale, etc363 words
- 66. Externmentetc of notorious or habitual offenders361 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/a8435211-f601-4fe1-af00-b0112c40aa2e.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/bb1b0d0a-9d10-4063-8843-5275ff0dde4b/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.