The government of Bihar has approached the Supreme Court seeking the transfer of a petition against the liquor ban it had enforced in the state in 2016. A number of alcohol manufacturers had filed a plea in the Patna High Court challenging the legislation.

The Bihar government had enforced the Prohibition and Excise Act two days after the Patna High Court had declared the state’s law prohibiting alcohol, the Bihar (Amendment) Act, illegal. The new legislation ensures that only special courts will try cases related to violations. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had said he would counter the high court’s decision by filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court.

The Bihar (Amendment) Act was passed in the state Legislative Assembly on March 31. In April, the state government had claimed that crime rates in Bihar had dropped by 27% after the ban on the sale of alcohol came into effect on April 5.