U.P. illicit liquor manufacturers may get death penalty too

State Cabinet approves changes to U.P. Excise Act, 1910 to control trafficking and manufacturing of illicit liquors

In this file photo, a policeman displays packets of illicit liquor seized from a well at Narawn village in Azamgarh district, some 300 kilometres southeast of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved changes to laws to incorporate the death penalty for those producing illicit liquor that causes death.

The Cabinet approved changes to the U.P. Excise Act, 1910 and incorporated harsher punishment to illicit liquor manufacturers, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.

With the addition of Section 60A into the Act, those guilty of causing death or permanent disability due to illicit liquor could face life imprisonment, ₹10 lakh fine or both, or death sentence.

The BJP government said that since the provisions of the U.P. Excise Act, 1910 was old, it felt that if harsher punitive clauses are brought in, then there could be “effective control” on trafficking and manufacturing of illicit liquor.

The government said the prevalence of illicit liquor not only caused harm to life, but also reduced the State's excise revenue.

The government has been failing to meet its target revenue over the recent years and a major reason for it was the trafficking of illegal liquor from neighbouring States, particularly Haryana, a spokesperson said.

In 2016-17 U.P. earned a excise revenue of ₹14, 272 crore.