The Patna High Court has delivered a significant ruling clarifying the jurisdiction of district-level special excise courts constituted under Bihar's liquor prohibition law. The court held that these courts have the authority to decide release applications for non-alcoholic and non-contraband goods or consignments that are seized along with vehicles allegedly carrying liquor bottles.
The provisions of the liquor prohibition laws in Bihar empower special excise courts to hear and decide pleas related to the release of vehicles or unlocking of premises that have been seized for recovery of liquor and similar contraband products. Such special courts are authorized to release vehicles or unseal premises after imposing a penalty of up to Rs 5 lakh.
However, until now, special excise courts routinely declined to entertain applications for the release of consignments, industrial goods, and machinery seized along with vehicles allegedly carrying liquor. This was because these items do not fall within the category of contraband, and the prohibition law does not provide any specific mechanism for their release by such courts.
A division bench of Justices Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Soni Srivastava, while allowing a writ application filed by a Delhi-based logistics company, ruled that the concerned special excise court can release 280 bags of powdered rubber worth Rs 17.5 lakh, which was being transported by the logistics company, without imposing any penalty.
The two judges further ruled that such non-alcoholic items can be released by special excise courts after invoking the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). This verdict was passed on May 15 this year and came into the public domain after being uploaded on the High Court's website during the summer vacation.
