PATNA: Drawing flak over rising pendency of court cases linked to liquor prohibition-related matters and poor conviction rate, the Bihar prohibition and excise department on Sunday organised a training programme for special public prosecutors (PPs), additional PPs, PPs and advocates associated with the department in association with the Panchayati Raj chair of the Chanakya National Law University in Patna.

The training programme, which was attended by a large number of PPs of various ranks and lawyers, comprised a presentation on salient features of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, with special emphasis on framing of charges, speedy trial with a view to procuring maximum conviction, case management and prosecution management and other aspects. Dean of NLU, SP Singh outlined the objective of training at the outset, while Justice (retd) Mridula Mishra, who is also the CNLU vice-chancellor, in her presidential address stressed the need for a coordinated approach to present the facts before the court. “Advocates and prosecutors should go well prepared so that on the basis of clinching evidence, the punishment could be awarded to the accused,” she added.

Retired district judges Harishchandra Singh, who is also a faculty member at the Bihar Judicial Academy, Om Prakash and deputy director (prohibition cell), Bica (Hajipur) conducted the sessions and identified the reasons behind low conviction and delay and underlined the need for a speedy trial so that it could work as a deterrent for the wrongdoers.

The move is significant as Supreme Court had last month dismissed a batch of 40 appeals from the Bihar government, challenging the grant of anticipatory and regular bails to accused under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, and refused to interfere with the high court orders.

“We find the accused were charged with the offence which relates to Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, and in most of the cases the impugned orders passed by the HC by which the bail was granted to them are of the years 2017/2018. There is no specific complaint of a violation of the condition. To achieve the object of the Act, the prosecution of the case should be made in all earnestness to secure conviction and punishment,” the order stated.

Between 2018 and 2021 (up to May 31) the cumulative figure of excise cases in the Patna HC stood at 57,159, which includes 32,909 for regular bail, 23,495 for anticipatory bail and 314 for quashing, besides others. The numbers have further gone up due to disruptions caused by the pandemic and vacancies in the court.

The Patna HC statistics also point to the unabated addition of excise cases, mostly related to bail, in dry Bihar. Since 2018, the percentage of excise cases out of the total institution of civil and criminal cases before the HC comes to around 19%, as per figures of the Patna HC. During the pandemic year 2020, when the courts also had restricted functioning and there were fewer cases, the share of excise cases rose to 21.75%. Overall pendency has also risen due to pandemic disruptions. The impact on the subordinate courts is more, with the share of excise cases out of the total number of cases instituted around 25%, say the official court figures.

At a function at Amravati last year, the CJI had cited the prohibition law as an example of a “lack of foresight” in drafting legislation, which leads to mounting court cases and backlogs in courts.