Nitish Kumar's new bill: Woman to be jailed if husband caught consuming alcohol in Bihar

In what can be termed as a rather impractical move, Nitish Kumar's government introduced the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Bill, 2016 on 30 July according to which, a woman in Bihar can be prosecuted by the state if her husband consumes alcohol without her knowledge.

According to the Bill, all the other adult members of the house will be arrested and sent to jail if a person in the family is found possessing or consuming alcohol at his residence.

The Bill also reportedly says that a collective fine will be imposed on a village if there are habitual offenders there.

However, the new provision has invited criticism from the Opposition parties.

"This new bill has several controversial provisions. We would pressure the government to make amendments in it," BJP Leader Sushil Kumar told the media.

On 26 November, 2015, the Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar announced that alcohol will be banned in Bihar from 1 April, 2016. The state Assembly passed a bill to ban country-made liquor and the bill has a provision for capital punishment for those engaged in manufacturing or trading illicit liquor in case people die after consuming it.