Vijay KeshariversusThe State of Bihar

          IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                   Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 2791 of 2026
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     Vijay Keshari S/o Lal Chand Keshari, R/o Vill.- House No. K-21/40, Gali
     No.-2, Gautam Vihar, Seelampur, P.S.- Seelampur, Dist.- North East Delhi,
     Delhi.
                                                                  ... ... Petitioner/s
                                         Versus
1.   The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Excise and Prohibition
     Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
2.   The Director General of Police, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
3.   The Excise Commissioner of Bihar, Patna.
4.   The District Magistrate-cum-Collector, Buxar.
5.   The Superintendent of Police, Buxar.
6.   The Superintendent of Excise, Buxar.
7.   The S.H.O. Buxar Excise Police Station, Dist.- Buxar.
                                               ... ... Respondent/s
     ======================================================
     Appearance :
     For the Petitioner/s     :      Mr. Dr. Kamal Deo Sharma, Adv.
     For the Respondent/s     :      Mr. Sarvesh Kumar, GP-24
     ======================================================
     CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT KUMAR SHAH
                 and
     HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAMESH CHAND MALVIYA
     ORAL JUDGMENT
     (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT KUMAR SHAH)

      Date: 23-03-2026

               The present writ petition has been filed for release of

      four-wheeler          Baleno   vehicle   of    the   petitioner     bearing

      Registration No. DL-10CK-1123, Chassis No. MBHEWB

      22SHL186640 and Engine No. K12MN7154888 in favour of

      the petitioner.
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         2.      The brief facts of the case are that the police personnel

         and excise officials, belonging to Chausa Janch Chauki, Buxar

         were checking vehicles coming from Uttar Pradesh in the

         afternoon of 03.12.2025 and at about 9.25 pm, one Baleno car

         bearing Registration No. DL-10CK-1123 was coming from the

         side of Uttar Pradesh, which was stopped and search was made,

         leading to recovery of one liter of illicit beer. In the said car,

         four persons including the brother of the petitioner was sitting,

         however the petitioner was not present in the car. The vehicle

         and the illicit beer were seized by the police personnel, leading

         to registration of Buxar Excise P.S. Case No. 499 of 2025, dated

         03.12.2025 under Section 30(a) and 37 of the Bihar Prohibition

         and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018 and 2022, against the said

         four persons.

         3.      The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that meager

         quantity of one liter of illicit beer has been recovered from the

         vehicle in question as also the petitioner was not present in the

         said car and the same was being driven by the brother of the

         petitioner, hence the petitioner is not having any complicity in

         the matter, thus a lenient view be taken and the vehicle in

         question be released upon payment of reasonable penalty.

         4.      Per contra, the learned counsel for the Respondent-State
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         submits that since illicit beer has been recovered from the car in

         question, the same has been seized and the FIR has been lodged

         as also confiscation proceeding has been initiated, however the

         learned counsel for the Respondent-State has not denied the fact

         that meager quantity, i.e. one liter of illicit beer has been

         recovered from the car in question and there is no material,

         which has been brought on record in the counter affidavit, filed

         by the Respondent-State to show that either the vehicle in

         question was being regularly used for transporting illicit liquor

         or the petitioner is an accused in such similar type of cases.

         5.      A bare perusal of Rule 12A (2) of the Rules, 2023 would

         show that while imposing penalty, the quantity of intoxicant

         recovered is also required to be considered. Nonetheless, at this

         juncture we would like to refer to an order dated 26.11.2025,

         passed by a coordinate Bench of this Court in CWJC No.14928

         of 2025 (Rakesh Kumar Singh vs. the State of Bihar & Ors),

         wherein it has been held as under:-

                 "In absence of any specific ground that the vehicle was in
                 regular use for transportation of liquors or that the
                 owner of the vehicle was found involved in transportation
                 of the liquors and/or there are multiple cases of similar
                 nature against the owner or the vehicle, imposition of the
                 penalty to the extent of 75 per cent of the insured value is
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                 an onerous condition and it amounts to virtually creating
                 a situation where huge hardship may be caused to an
                 owner of the vehicle in getting release of the vehicle."

         6.      Yet another aspect of the matter is that Rule 12A (4) of

         the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2022

         provides that while imposing fine, the Collector or the officer

         authorized by him shall have due regard to the economic status

         of the individual, nature of his involvement in the crime and the

         quantum of intoxicant recovered.

         7       Having considered the facts and circumstances of the case

         as also taking into account the fact that meager quantity of one

         litre of illicit beer has been recovered, the petitioner was not

         present in the car at the time the aforesaid incident had taken

         place and no material is available in the counter affidavit filed

         by the respondents to show that either the petitioner/his vehicle

         was regularly involved in transportation of illicit liquor or the

         petitioner is involved in multiple cases of similar nature, which

         are also the factors required to be considered while imposing

         penalty for release of the vehicle, as has been provided under

         Rule 12A(2) of the Rules, 2023 and Rule 12A(4) of the Rules,

         2022, we are of the considered view that it would be in the

         interest of justice and equitable, if the petitioner is directed to

         pay a sum of Rs.1,000/- by way of penalty for the purposes of
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         release of the vehicle in question.

         8.      At this juncture, the learned counsel for the petitioner

         submits that the petitioner would be depositing a sum of Rs.

         1,000/- within a period of three weeks from today and shall

         make available the documents of ownership of the vehicle in

         question before the competent authority.

         9.      In such view of the matter, we direct that in case the

         aforesaid sum of Rs. 1,000/- is deposited before the competent

         authority within a period of three weeks from today, the vehicle

         in question shall be released in favour of the petitioner, after

         being satisfied with the documents relating to the ownership of

         the vehicle in question, within a period of one week, thereafter.

         10.     It is needless to state that the present order has been

         passed by us while invoking the extraordinary jurisdiction under

         Article 226 of the Constitution of India for the reason that

         unnecessarily the petitioner shall be liable to be subjected to

         various proceedings like the one under Rule 12A of the Rules,

         2023, Section 57B, 58, 92 and 93 of the Bihar Prohibition and

         Excise Act, 2016, as amended upto date, for a meager recovery

         of one litre illicit beer, as also with a view to avoid and prevent

         multiplicity of proceedings, in the interest of justice.

         11.     Accordingly, the present writ petition stands disposed off
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                       on the aforesaid terms.


                                               (Mohit Kumar Shah, J)


                                             (Ramesh Chand Malviya, J)

 Ajay/-
AFR/NAFR               NAFR
CAV DATE               NA
Uploading Date         25.03.2026
Transmission Date      NA