ORAL JUDGMENT

(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P. B. BAJANTHRI)

Date : 18-12-2024 In the instant writ petition, petitioners have prayed for the following reliefs:

“A. A writ in the nature of CERTIORARI or any other appropriate writ/s, order/s, direction/s quashing the following:

i. The order dated 14.10.2022 vide Memo No. Excise Rev. Case No. 199/2022-246 passed in Excise Revision No. 199/2022 whereby and where under the Additional Chief Secretary, Bihar, Patna (Respondent No. 2) uphold the order dated 11.01.2022 passed by the Learned Excise Commissioner, Bihar Patna in Excise Appeal No. 881/2021 in which the learned Commissioner has confirmed the order dated 01.10.2021 passed by the Learned Additional Collector – cum- Additional District Magistrate, Nalanda in Excise Confiscation Case No. 65/2021 (in connection with Ekangarsarai P.S. Case No. 54 of 2020) and direction the learned Additional Collector – cum- Additional District Magistrate, Nalanda to proceed with auction in the confiscation proceeding as per the Act.

(Annexure – 7)

ii. The order dated 13.03.2021 passed by the learned Additional District Magistrate – cum – Additional District Collector, Nalanda (Respondent No. 8) in Confiscation (Excise) Case No. 65 of 2021 (Annexure – 3) whereby and where under he has directed to the Superintendent Excise Prohibition, Nalanda, to take valuation report of Scorpio Vehicle bearing registration no. BR01PK – 7002, which was seized in connection with Ekangarsarai P.S. Case No. 54/2020 registered for the offence under Section 30 (a) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 2018, from the Motor Vehicle Inspector, Nalanda and sale the vehicle in open market and deposit the collected money into the government treasury.

iii. The order dated 11.01.2022 passed by the Commissioner, Excise, Bihar, Patna (Respondent No. 4) in Excise Appeal case No. 881 of 2021 (Annexure – 5) whereby and where under he has upheld the order dated 13.03.2021 passed by the learned Additional District Magistrate – Cum – Additional District Collector, Nalanda (Respondent No. 8).

iv. The auction order (Parwana) dated

13.05.2021 passed by the S.D.O, Hilsa (Nalanda) by which the vehicle of the Petitioner auctioned in the favour of one Abhinav Mrinal.

B. A writ in the nature of MANDAMUS or any other appropriate writ/s, order/s directing the Respondent Authorities the following :

I. To release the Scorpio Vehicle bearing Reg. No. BR01PK 7002 which was seized in connection with Ekangarsarai P.S. Case No. 54/2020 registered for offence under section 30 (a) of the Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act, 2018.

ii. To hold that the orders / actions (Annexures – 3, 5 & 7) of the Respondent Authorities are not tenable in the eye of law and violative to Article 300A of the Constitution of India.

iii. To hold the orders / actions (Annexure – 3, 5 & 7) of the Respondent Authorities amounts to double jeopardy.

iv. To hold that the orders dated

13.03.2021, 11.01.2022 and 14.10.2022 passed by the Respondent Nos. 8, 5 and 2 respectively are null and void.”

2. The petitioner’s vehicle bearing Registration No.

BR01PK 7002 was alleged to have been involved for the offence under the Excise Act. In this regard, Ekangarsarai P.S. Case No. 54 of 2020 was registered on 02.03.2020. After more than one year, confiscation proceedings have been concluded on 13.03.2021, thereafter, subject matter of vehicle was proceeded to auction on 13.05.2021. Resultantly, third party auction purchaser right has been created. Be that as it may, petitioner has preferred appeal before the appellate authority in questioning the validity of the confiscation order dated 13.03.2021 and it was dismissed on 11.01.2022. Thereafter, petitioner approached this Court in filing CWJC No. 5367 of 2022 and it was disposed of on 10.05.2022 while giving opportunity to the petitioner to invoke remedy of filing revision before the Revisional Authority under Section 93 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016. The petitioner has exhausted the revision petiti