JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. Satyabir Bharti, learned Advocate for the petitioner and Mr. P.K. Verma, learned AAG for the State.

1. This writ petition has been filed for quashing the entire prosecution emanating out of Pandaul P.S. Case No. 270 of 2020 instituted for the offences under Sections 30(a) and 35(e) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 and under Sections 272, 273, 465 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and restraining the respondents from taking any coercive step against the petitioner in pursuance of the aforementioned case.

2. The petitioner is a Company incorporated under the provisions of the Companies Act which is engaged in the manufacture of non-alcoholic beers/drinks at Naubatpur in the district of Patna.

3. In the present case, the manufacturing unit is being represented by the General Works Manager, Brewery viz. Amrish Kumar Singh.

4. The prosecution against the petitioner/company has been challenged on the ground that none of the offences under the Indian Penal Code or under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 was made out and that the petitioner/company has never manufactured or sold any intoxicant or liquor as defined under the Excise Act.

5. It was also urged on behalf of the petitioner/company that assuming that a small percentage of ethyl alcohol was found in a non-alcoholic drink without there being any accusation or evidence of the drink being consumed or sold for the purposes of intoxication, no such prosecution could have been launched.

6. The petitioner/company, brewery is in the business of manufacturing alcoholic beverages/beer which is done strictly in accordance with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and only after grant of a license issued by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for manufacture and sale of such non-alcoholic beverage.

7. It has been urged that after the imposition of prohibition in the State of Bihar on sale and consumption of foreign liquor and beer from 5th of April, 2016, the petitioner/company was required to seek permission from the Excise and Prohibition Department, Government of Bihar for manufacturing malt-based non-alcoholic drinks and on such request to the Excise Department, the license was given on 13.12.2016 by the Excise Commissioner, Bihar.

8. Again by notification dated 24.01.2017, the petitioner/company was permitted to engage in the manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages.

9. The petitioner/company has been brewing malt-based non-alcoholic beverage which is being sold under the brand names of Kingfisher Radler and Kingfisher Ultra. The aforesaid drinks are absolutely non-alcoholic as the Bureau of Indian Standards has laid down the specifications for manufacture of carbonated beverages and it has been declared that a non-alcoholic beverage should contain less than 0.5% ethyl alcohol by volume.

10. It has also been urged on behalf of the petitioner/company that the license to brew such beverage was obtained from FSSAI also. The manufactured product of the petitioner/company was tested at the Government laboratory viz. CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore (Food Safety & Analytical Quality Control Laboratory), which also reported that the drink was zero percent alcohol based. The label on such drink also clearly specifies that it is a non-alcoholic drink.

11. Despite this, the petitioner/brewery does not know how the Chemical Examiner of the Excise Department at Patna gave a report that the sample so analyzed was found to be fermented liquor having ethyl alcohol content of 0.8% v/v.

12. Mr. Satyabir Bharti, learned Advocate for the petitioner/company has submitted that the Excise Act defines intoxicant and liquor respectively under Sections 2(40) and 2(44) respectively.

13. “Alcoholic Beverage or Portable liquor” and “BIS Standards” have also been defined under Sections 2(4) and 2(6) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.

14. The combined reading of these provisions, it has been urged, clearly reveals that an intoxicant is a