HC junks Bihar govt's ban on producing 'extra neutral alcohol'

The Patna High Court today set aside a Bihar government notification banning the production of extra neutral alcohol (ENA) after imposition of total prohibition in the state.
A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and justices Ajay Kumar Tripathi and Sudhir Singh set aside the government's January 24, 2017 notification not to renew the licenses of ENA manufacturers.
The court gave its verdict on a plea by Distillery and Bottlers Pvt Ltd and three other companies against the government's notification.
The petitioners had submitted to the court they had been given the license to produce ENA, also known as industrial alcohol, after the government imposed total prohibition in the state through its notification dated October 2, 2016.

Hence there was no rationale in the fresh notification against ENA manufacture.
The court accepted the plea and set aside the January 24, 2017 notification banning ENA.
The state cabinet had on January 17 this year decided not to renew the license of three beer manufacturing units in Bihar, 12 bottling plants and six ENA manufacturing units from the new financial year starting from April 1.