Patna High Court
Rakesh Kumar @ Rakesh Ranjan @ Rakesh … vs The State Of Bihar on 28 August, 2025
Author: Shailendra Singh
Bench: P. B. Bajanthri, Shailendra Singh
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.13111 of 2025
======================================================
Rakesh Kumar @ Rakesh Ranjan @ Rakesh Mandal, S/o Late Chand Kishor
Prasad @ Chandeshwari Mandal, R/o Village- Khagraun, P.S.- Tetiyamber,
District- Munger.
... ... Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through Principal Secretary, Excise Department,
Government of Bihar, Old Secretariat, Patna.
2. The Assistant Commissioner (Excise), Munger.
3. The Collector-cum-District Magistrate, Munger.
4. The Superintendent of Police, Munger.
5. The District Supply Officer (Excise), Munger.
6. The Circle Officer, Tetiyamber, Munger.
7. The SHO, Harpur Police Station, District- Munger.
... ... Respondents
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner : Mr. Raj Kishor Prasad, Adv.
For the Respondents : Mr. Santosh Chandra Bhaskar, AC to GP 11
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P. B. BAJANTHRI
and
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAILENDRA SINGH
CAV JUDGMENT
(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SHAILENDRA SINGH)
Date : 28 -08-2025
In the instant writ petition, petitioner has prayed for the
following relief(s):-
"I. For issuance of writ of mandamus and
any other appropriate writ or writs, order/orders,
direction/directions to the respondent's authority to
release the premises/room/house of the petitioner
bearing Mauza - Dhauri, Thana No. 343, Khata No.
Patna High Court CWJC No.13111 of 2025
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51, Khesra No. 318, area 0.5 decimal, wherefrom it
is alleged to be the recovery of 4 liters of illicit
country-made Mahua wine.
II. For setting aside the order dated
28.01.2025
passed in Excise premises Confiscation
Case No. 87/2025 passed by the District Magistrate,
Munger by which the learned District Magistrate,
Munger has directed to pay Rs. 1,00,000/- (One
Lakh) fine for release of sealed Premises/room and
deposit it in the office of Assistant Commissioner,
Prohibition of Alcohal, Munger and obtain receipt.
III. For further direction/directions to
waive the fine imposed upon the petitioner as a
penalty as per Bihar Excise Amendment Act, 2016
(Amended on 2018/2022) as the petitioner belongs to
a lower stratum of the society and has no other land
except the present one.
IV. For any other appropriate order/orders
and direction/directions befitting to the petitioner in
the larger interest of natural justice.”
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2. Briefly stated facts of the case are that while on
routing patrolling duty, the informant received the secret
information at the police station that illicit liquor was being stored
and sold at the house of the petitioner. On such information, the
police raided the house of the petitioner and recovered 04 litres of
illicit liquor from his house. On the basis of aforesaid recovery,
Harpur P.S. Case No. 85/2024 dated 12.08.2024 was registered
under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.
3. It is submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner
that the petitioner has falsely been implicated in this case due to
village politics at the behest of the influential persons of the
village and no independent witness has put his signature on the
seizure list. It is further submitted that the alleged place of
recovery is a dwelling house in which all family members of
petitioner are residing and no effort was made to ascertain whether
the petitioner alone had possession over the place of recovery or
knowledge of the alleged illicit liquor. The seizure list has been
prepared without following the prescribed procedure of search and
seizure and at the time of raid no respectable person of the village
like, Mukhiya, Sarpanch or Ward Member was present which
clearly shows the malafide intention of police personnel. The
recovery of illicit liquor is only 4 litres, which is a meager
Patna High Court CWJC No.13111 of 2025
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quantity. It is lastly submitted that on notice the petitioner
appeared in Excise Confiscation Case No. 87/2025 and filed his
reply with required documents but the learned District Magistrate,
Munger has not considered his defense and passed the impugned
order dated 28.01.2025 with a direction to him to deposit the fine
amount of Rs. 1,00,000/- (one lakh) in the office of Assistant
Excise Commissioner, Munger for unseal of his premises/ room,
which is in violation of principles of natural justice.
4. Heard both the sides, perused the impugned order and
relevant materials.
5. Considering the small quantity of liquor, the
concerned authority is hereby directed to collect the fine of Rs.
10000/- (Ten Thousands) only from the petitioner and unseal the
house of the petitioner within a period of one week from the date
of receipt of this order, for which petitioner has no objection.
6. We are conscious of the fact that the alleged recovery
is of meager quantity of liquor and the aforesaid order has been
passed by this court while invoking extra ordinary jurisdiction
under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the reasons that
unnecessarily petitioner should not be subjected to various
proceedings like Rule of 12B of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise
Rules, 2021 read with Rule 12B in the year 2022, Sections 58, 92
Patna High Court CWJC No.13111 of 2025
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and 93 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, for an issue
of recovery of only 04 litres of illicit liquor and such order is
required to prevent the multiplicity of proceedings in the interest
of justice.
7. Accordingly, the writ petition stands disposed of.
( Shailendra Singh, J)
I agree. (P. B. Bajanthri, J)
BKS/-
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE 22.08.2025
Uploading Date 28.08.2025
Transmission Date N.A.
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