Chapter I Chapter I

(1) This Act may be called the Bihar Prohibition Act, 1938. (2) It extends to the whole of the province of Bihar. (3) This section and sections 3 and 9 shall come into force in the whole of the Province of Bihar at once. (4) The remaining provisions of this Act, or any of them, shall come into force in any local area in the Province of Bihar on such date as the Governor may, by notification, and different dates, may be appointed for different provisions.

From the date on which any of the provision of this Act mentioned in the first column of the Schedule came into force in any local area, the enactments mentioned opposite such provision in the second column of the Schedule shall cease to be in force in such area to the extent specified in the third Column of the Schedule. Provided that the Governor may, by notification, declare that any of the provisions of this Act mentioned in the first column of the Schedule shall cease to be in force in any local area on such date as may be specified in the notification and thereupon the portions mentioned in the third column of the Schedule of the enactments mentioned opposite any such provision in the second column of the Schedule with any subsequent statutory modifications thereof shall revive and came into force in such area on and with effect from such date.

In this Act. Unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,- (1) Bottle – “Bottle’ means to transfer liquor from a cask or other vessel to a bottle, jar, flask or pot or similar receptacle for the purpose of sale, whether any process of manufacture be employed or not, and includes rebottling; (2) Buy or Buying – “Buy” or “Buying” includes any receipt including gift; (3) Collector – ‘Collector” means a Collector of land-revenue or a Deputy Commissioner or any person appointed under sub-section (1) of section 5 to exercise all or any of the powers or to perform all or any of the duties of a Collector under this Act; (4) Cultivation – “Cultivation” includes the tending or protecting of a plant during growth and does no necessarily imply raising it from seed; (5) Export – “Export” means – (a) to take out of any local area in which this Act is in force to any other local area in the province of Bihar in which this Act is not in force, or (b) to take out of the Province of Bihar; (6) Import – “Import”’ means- (a) to bring into any local area in which this Act is in force from any other local area in the Province of Bihar in which this Act is not in force, or (b) to bring into the Province of Bihar; (7) Institution – “ Institution” includes clubs, restaurants, hotels and shops where liquor, intoxicating drug or article containing liquor or drug is sold under license; (8) Intoxicating drug. – “Intoxicating drug” means – (i) the leaves small, stalks and flowering of fruiting tops of the Indian hemp plant (Cannabis sativa L.) including all forms known as bhang. siddhi or ganga; (ii) charas, that is, therein obtained from the Indian hemp plant, which has not been submitted to any manipulations other than those necessary for packing and transport; (iii) any mixture, with or without neutral materials, of any of the above forms of intoxicating drug, or any drink prepared there from; and (iv) any other intoxicating or narcotic substance which the Governor may, by notification declare to be an intoxicating drug, such substance not being opium, coca leaf, or a manufactured drug, as defined in section 2 of the Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930 (II of 1930); (9) Liquor- “Liquor” includes spirit of wine, mentholated spirits, spirits, wine, beer and all liquids consisting of or containing alcohol but does not include tari or talras; (10) Local body- “Local body” means a District or Local Board constituted under the Bihar and Orissa Local Self Government Act, 1885 (Ben. Act III of 1885) or a District Committee constituted under the Cess Act, 1880,(Ben. Act IV of 1880), or a Municipality or Notified Area Committee constituted or appointed under the Bihar and Orissa Municipal Act, 1922, (B & O. Act, VI of 1922) or the Jharia Mines Board of Health; (11) Manufacture- “Manufacture” includes every process, whether natural or artificial, by which any fermented spirituous, or intoxicating liquor or intoxicating drug is produced, prepared or blended, and also re-distillation and every process for the rectification of liquor; (12) Officer in charge of a police station- “Officer in charge of a police station” has the same meaning as in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898, (V of 1898) and includes any person invested with the powers of an officer in charge of a police- station under section 38; (13) Place- “Place” includes also a house, shed, enclosure, building, shop, tent and vessel; (14) Police-Station- “Police-station” has the same meaning as in the code of Criminal procedure, 1898 (V of 1898); (15) Prohibition authority-“Prohibition authority” means the Prohibition Commissioner, a collector, a Prohibition Superintendent or a Prohibition Officer; (16) Prohibition Commissioner-“Prohibition Commissioner” means the officer appointed to be the Prohibition Commissioner under sub-section (1) of section 5; (17) Prohibition Officer-“Prohibition Officer” means a person appointed to be a Prohibition Officer under sub-section (1) of section 5; (18) Prohibition Superintendent-“Prohibition Superintendent” means a person appointed to be a Prohibition Superintendent under sub-section (1) of section 5; (19) Rectification-“Rectification’ includes every process whereby spirit are purified or are colored or flavored by mixing any material therewith; (20) Sale or Selling- “Sale” or “Selling” includes any transfer including gift; (21) Spirits – “Spirits” means any liquor containing alcohol and obtained by distillation (whether it is denatured or not); Explanation – ‘Denatured” means subjected to a process prescribed by the Governor by notification for the purpose of rendering unfit for human consumption; (22) Talras - “Talras” means juice drawn from a palmyara or date plam tree into and kept in receptacles in the prescribed manner so as to prevent any fermentation of the juice; (23) Tari – “Tari” means juice drawn from a palmyara or date plam tree; and (24) Transport – “Transport” means to move from one place to another within any local area to which this Act applies.