Drunk on Power: A Study of Excise Policing in Madhya Pradesh

Our report seeks to examine the criminal justice system through excise policing in Madhya Pradesh (‘MP’). We study who is policed, which activities are particularly targeted under the MP Excise Act, 1915 (‘Excise Act’), and how narratives of criminality are constructed through the excise regime. This study is especially relevant given the large number of excise-related arrests in MP and the casteist implications of such arrests.