Cuttack, Feb. 22: Orissa High Court today issued notice to the state’s former excise commissioner Sudarshan Nayak to showcause within one week why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him for non-compliance of order related to sale of out-still liquor (country liquor made from mahua flower or rice).

“The division bench of Chief Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Justice B.N. Mohapatra today directed Nayak to file an affidavit on steps taken to implement the court order and why a case of contempt of court is not made out against him,” petitioner counsel Ashis Kumar Mishra told The Telegraph.

“Though an affidavit was filed by a deputy commissioner of the excise department, the court refused to accept it as it considered Nayak as the accused of contempt,” Mishra said. Nayak was transferred and posted as director in the general administration department on February 13 in the wake of the Cuttack-Khurda hooch tragedy.

The order was issued over three months ago. It expected enforcement of the guidelines issued by the excise commissioner in 2009 for 21 districts. The guidelines asked for mandatory mention of the manufacturer’s name, code number, identification mark of the shop approved, strength of the liquor, transportation of liquor to different branches, quantity of liquor in poly packs and the statutory warning.

The 21 districts included Mayurbhanj, Angul, Bargarh, Balangir, Deogarh, Dhenkanal, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Sambalpur, Sonepur, Sundargarh, Boudh, Gajapati, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nawarangpur, Nuapada, Kandhamal and Rayagada.

Balangir-based NGO Avirbhav’s chairman Archer Ardhendu Narayan Behera had filed a PIL, seeking judicial intervention against sale of out-still country liquor in poly packs in the tribal-dominated regions in violation of excise department guidelines as sale of spurious liquor went unchecked because of it and caused possible deaths.

The court had directed the excise commissioner for identification of the country liquor manufacturers, who were violating it and registration of criminal cases against them.

After the hooch tragedy Behera filed a contempt petition, alleging non-compliance of the November 3 order.

The petitioner had alleged that the excise superintendents of 21 districts were yet to implement the guidelines. The petition alleged a nexus between the excise officials, especially the superintendents of these districts and the manufacturing units. It said the local manufacturers of out-still liquor managed to handle not only the excise officials, but also the local political leaders, youths and others by giving huge donations for different programmes and functions.

Consequently, liquor packs with images of deer, fish, tiger, human head and many more were sold and easily available near hospital, railway station, bus stand, school, college and temple and even the police station, petitioner said.

“The nexus was resulting in huge loss of revenue from excise as no records on production and sale of out-still liquor are put under scrutiny. More so, because of non-implementation of the guidelines, issued by the excise commissioner, many poor people in these tribal districts are dying,” the petition alleged.