Patna: A political row over a research paper recommending the lifting of Bihar’s liquor ban has escalated, with a Patna High Court lawyer serving a legal notice on the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), its governing body and four authors of the paper.
Lawyer Anand Kumar Tiwari has sought a response within seven days from NCAER director general, members of its governing body and the four researchers associated with the preliminary paper.
Report questions impact of prohibition
NCAER released the research paper a few days ago, suggesting that Bihar should consider lifting its prohibition on alcohol.
According to the report, incidents of violence against women had not ceased after prohibition was introduced, while the availability of narcotics and illicit liquor had increased. It also estimated that the Bihar government could see a 14% to 15% increase in revenue if alcohol sales resumed.
The findings prompted objections from ruling Janata Dal (United) in Bihar, which is led by former chief minister Nitish Kumar. JD(U) MLC and party spokesperson Neeraj Kumar had questioned the report and said he would issue a legal notice to NCAER.
Notice questions research process
The legal notice has also been sent to the four authors named in the preliminary research paper: Dr Ratna Sahay, Professor Santosh Gautam, Professor Nishith Prakash and Dr Akash Dev.
The notice questions how the findings and conclusions of the preliminary-stage paper were verified before the document was circulated widely in the national media.
It refers to the India Policy Forum’s standard procedure, under which papers undergo discussion, expert commentary and editorial revision before finalisation. The notice seeks clarification on the stage at which the facts and conclusions in the paper were examined.
It also argues that when a research paper from an institution such as NCAER is made public and its findings are presented nationally as the institution’s study or report, the institution has a responsibility to explain the basis for the facts, data and conclusions.
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Bihar government says prohibition will continue
Prohibition has been in force in Bihar since 2016, when the then chief minister Nitish Kumar’s government introduced the law with support from parties across the political spectrum. The law has been amended several times since then.
Following the release of the NCAER paper, the NDA government in Bihar said the prohibition law would remain in force and that there would be no change to the policy. The state is currently headed by chief minister Samrat Choudhary.
