The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Punjab government over the issue of the sale of spurious liquor in the state, saying this is a serious issue as Punjab is a border state.
The court asked the state government to come up with specific steps to curb the menace of spurious liquor, or "the youth will be finished". A bench of Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said that drugs are a problem and also the illegal manufacture of alcohol as both adversely affect the health of the people.
"This is unfortunate, if somebody wants to finish the country, they will start at the borders. Every effort should be taken to save the country, and it is very easy to ruin the youth," the bench said.
The court was hearing a plea in connection with allegations of large-scale illegal liquor manufacturing and sale in Punjab.
Having noted that several FIRs were registered in the past two years, the bench said funds seized by authorities, during clamp down on illegal manufacturing units, should be utilised for awareness campaigns.
The bench sought a reply from the state government on steps taken to combat domestic and commercial production of illegal liquor. It suggested that the state may also come out with a circular on effective investigation and enquiry, when an illegal manufacturing unit is found.
The court fixed the matter for further hearing next Monday.
During the years from 2019 up to May 31, 2021, a total of 34,767 criminal cases were registered under the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, the court had noted.
The state government also informed as many as 1,270 illegal units/Bhatthis manufacturing illicit liquor were unearthed and destroyed, which was suggestive that large scale of illicit liquor is being manufactured in the State of Punjab due to lack of periodical inspection and supervision.