The Patna High Court on Thursday expressed concern over 2.7 lakh pending prohibition-related cases in lower courts across the State and asked the State government to explain how it proposed to dispose them. The court also observed that due to the mounting pressure of such cases working of the lower judiciary was being “adversely affected”.
While hearing a petition, a division Bench headed by Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay observed that there were over 2.7 lakh pending cases related to new Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. Of these, 28,593 had been filed in Patna district alone.
In an oral order, the Bench said the cases have increased manifold the burden on the courts and that the home secretary should explain how the State government intended to tackle the problem.
State Advocate-General Lalit Kishore told the court that the matter was already being considered by the State government.
