It has been more than a month since the Gujarat assembly unanimously passed the Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) 2009 Bill, which proposed the death sentence or life imprisonment for those found guilty of manufacturing and selling illicit liquor in cases where those who consumed the brew have died.
On Friday, illicit liquor claimed three lives in Ahmedabad, brining back memories of the tragedy in July in which 136 died, prompting the state government to make the punishment for such crimes more stringent.
However, the Bill still remained a Bill as the governor is yet to sign on the same. “Stringent laws may not be a sure way of deterring criminals from wrongdoings, but they certainly help in reining them in and later in their prosecution,” a government official said.
Nawal Kishore Sharma’s term as governor ended a week before the Bill was passed. He, however, continued to hold office as the newly appointed governor, Devendra Nath Dwivedi, recuperated from illness in a Delhi hospital. Later, Maharashtra governor SC Jamir was given additional charge of Gujarat.
The amended bill has proposed seven to 10 years’ imprisonment for those found guilty of manufacturing, selling or distributing country liquor in cases where consumption of the same does not result in death. The Bombay Prohibition Act 1949 had undergone amendments in 1964, 1978, 2003 and 2005.
The Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment Act) 2009 makes it mandatory for the police to send the seized consignment of country liquor to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gujarat for testing before suitable charges are filed against the culprits.
The seized vehicles in which the liquor is carried are to be auctioned and the proceeds deposited in the state government treasury, the amended bill stated.
