SC to consider Bihar’s plea against acquittal of 13 in Gopalganj hooch tragedy

The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to consider listing for urgent hearing the appeal of the Bihar government against a Patna High Court verdict acquitting 13 persons in the 2016 Gopalganj hooch tragedy case in which 19 people had died after drinking spurious country-made liquor.A Gopalganj court had sentenced nine men to death and awarded life terms to four women convicts in March last year.

The Supreme Court Tuesday agreed to consider listing for urgent hearing the appeal of the Bihar government against a Patna High Court verdict acquitting 13 persons in the 2016 Gopalganj hooch tragedy case in which 19 people had died after drinking spurious country-made liquor.

A Gopalganj court had sentenced nine men to death and awarded life terms to four women convicts in March last year. This was the first death sentence under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.

However, the High Court acquitted all the 13 convicts in the case leading the state government to rush to the apex court with its appeal against the verdict.

An apex court bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli was urged by the counsel for Bihar that the matter needed an urgent hearing as the release of the accused from prison may create "unrest" in the locality.

"In Bihar, the (Patna) High court on July 13 has reversed a judgment in a liquor tragedy in which 19 people had died and many others had lost their eyesight. We have filed an SLP (special leave petition) on July 17," the state counsel said.

"What is the urgency," the CJI asked.

"Once the accused are released from prison, there will be a big problem and there will be unrest," the lawyer said, adding that the appeal may be listed on Monday.

The bench said it would consider the request after perusing the documents. The High Court, in its verdict, found "procedural lapses" in the police investigation, which was the main ground for acquittal of all the 13 accused.

The Gopalganj police had lodged the FIR against 14 persons on August 16, 2016, for allegedly manufacturing and selling spurious liquor.

On March 25, 2021, nine people were awarded the death sentence and four the life sentence by the trial court.