Penalty for possession or knowledge of possession of intoxicant
Section 38 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 deals with penalty for possession or knowledge of possession of intoxicant. If any person has (1) in his possession, without lawful authority, any liquor or intoxicant, knowing or having reason to believe the same to have been unlawfully imported, transported, manufactured, or knowing or having reason to believe that the prescribed duty has not been paid thereon;
If any person has (1) in his possession, without lawful authority, any liquor or intoxicant, knowing or having reason to believe the same to have been unlawfully imported, transported, manufactured, or knowing or having reason to believe that the prescribed duty has not been paid thereon; or (2) any knowledge about the possession or storage without lawful authority, of liquor or intoxicant, in his premises or the premises that he is occupying and if he fails to inform the nearest excise officer or the police officer, then; he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may not be less than eight years but which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees and in default of payment of fine, shall be punished with a further imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year.
Explanation :-- "Possession" here means the possession by any family or member of that family and includes the knowledge of possession where any member of a family or the family itself know that such possession is illegal, whether it is in his or her own possession or with some other member of the family.
Section 38, 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.
-
Prabhat Pandey @ Mr. Prabhat Pandey vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases where a vehicle is seized in connection with drunken driving but no liquor is recovered from the vehicle, the confiscating authority must record a positive finding on the applicability of Section 56 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 before passing any confiscation order. The confiscating authority must decide this issue as a preliminary matter before proceeding with confiscation. The reasonable time period for completing confiscation proceedings under Section 58 of the Act is three months. Provisional release of seized vehicles should be granted pending completion of confiscation proceedings in cases where the vehicle is not liable to be confiscated or where there is inordinate delay.
On this section: Offence related to liquor possession and sale
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 38
What have the courts held on Section 38 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act?
Prabhat Pandey @ Mr. Prabhat Pandey vs The State of Bihar (08 Jan 2020) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Offence related to liquor possession and sale.
How do I find court cases under Section 38 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 38, section 38 Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, section 38 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 Prabhat Pandey @ Mr. Prabhat Pandey vs The State of Bihar (08 Jan 2020).
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.