IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.1350 of 2026 ======================================================

Kale Bahadur Chhetri Son of Harilal Chettri, Resident of Bhurrabari Basti, Carron Luksan Bazzar Tea Garden, Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), at present residing at NST Colony, Kohima, Nagaland.

... ... Petitioner/s Versus

1. The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Registration, Excise and Prohibition Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.

2. The Additional Chief Secretary, Excise, Bihar, Patna.

3. The Commissioner Excise, Bihar, Patna.

4. The Collector/District Magistrate, Sitamarhi.

5. The Superintendent of Police, Sitamarhi.

6. The Excise Superintendent, Sitamarhi.

7. The Sub Inspector, Excise, Flying Squad, Sitamarhi.

... ... Respondent/s ======================================================

Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Pallav Sharma, Advocate Mr. Kuldeep Thakur, Advocate Mr. Pulkit Thakur, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mr. Vikash Kumar, SC-11 ======================================================

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT KUMAR SHAH and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK KUMAR PANDEY ORAL ORDER (Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MOHIT KUMAR SHAH)

2 09-02-2026 The present petition has been filed for quashing the auction notice dated 22.01.2022 by which the vehicle of the petitioner is sought to be auctioned and for further directing the authorities to handover the vehicle to the petitioner upon payment of penalty.

2. The facts of the present case lie in a narrow encompass, inasmuch as on 19.07.2021, the SSB personnel posted at Sitamarhi, during the course of search had apprehended one Mahindra Blazo 40 (Container Truck) bearing Registration No. NL01AD1699 and recovered 10.800 liters of illicit Nepali liquor as also arrested one Sunil Kumar. The said Sunil Kumar, who was driving the said vehicle was arrested and then a case was lodged by the Additional Inspector, Prohibition, Sitamarhi by filing an application before the Additional Sessions Judge, 2^nd cum Special Judge, Sitamarhi leading to registration of a case bearing G.O. 129 of 2021. Thereafter, confiscation proceedings vide Confiscation Case No. 158/2021 was initiated by the learned Collector, Sitamarhi and vide order dt.

03.09.2021, the said vehicle was directed to be confiscated.

3. The petitioner had then filed an appeal bearing Excise Appeal Case No. 710 of 2021, however the same was dismissed by the learned Excise Commissioner, Patna vide order dated 29.10.2021. The said order dated 29.10.2021 was challenged by the petitioner by filing Excise Revision Case No.

31 of 2022, however the same has also stood dismissed by an order dated 17.02.2022, passed by the learned Additional Chief Secretary, Bihar, Patna. It appears that thereafter, the aforesaid vehicle was put on auction vide notice dated 22.01.2022 and the auction is stated to have been held on 09.2.2022. The petitioner, in the meantime had approached this Court challenging the aforesaid orders dated 03.09.2021, passed by the Ld. District Magistrate, Patna, the order dated 29.10.2021, passed by the Excise Commissioner, Bihar, Patna and the order dt. 17.02.2022 passed by the Ld. Additional Chief Secretary, Excise, Bihar, Patna in Excise Revision Case No. 31 of 2022, however a Co- ordinate Bench of this Court by an order dated 6.5.2022, passed in the writ petition filed by the petitioner, i.e. C.W.J.C. No. 4982 of 2022, had though refrained from interfering with the aforesaid orders passed by various authorities up to the revision stage, nonetheless had granted liberty to the petitioner to avail the remedies of the amended provisions contained in 12 (A) and 57 B of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2022 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules, 2022’). Unfortunately, the petitioner having lost from everywhere and the vehicle in question having been auctioned in the meantime, he was not left with the remedy of availing the benefit of the provisions contained