Confiscation of a vehicle under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act requires both direct involvement in the offence and the owner's connivance, absent which no penalty may be imposed.

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

4 09-02-2026 The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the order dated 15.05.2025 passed by the Secretary (Prohibition & Excise) Bihar, Patna in Excise Revision Case No. 04 of 2025, whereby and whereunder the order dated 16.08.2024 passed by the Collector-cum-District Magistrate, Darbhanga in Excise Confiscation Case No. 177/Excise/2024 and the order dated

12.11.2024 passed by the Commissioner Excise, Bihar, Patna in Excise Appeal Case No. 94 of 2024 have been set-aside and it has been held that penalty to the extent of 20% of the newest insurance value would be appropriate as also the petitioner has been granted liberty to file application in Form-IV, whereafter appropriate action has been directed to be taken to release the vehicle and in case the said penalty amount is not deposited within a period of 15 days, it has been further directed to auction sale the vehicle in question.

2. The brief facts of the case are that the S.S.T. officials who were on Lok Sabha Election-2024 duty, were searching vehicles while being posted at the gate of Lohia Charan Singh Mahavidyalaya, Bahadurpur Police Station, Darbhanga and during the course thereof they had intercepted one bus bearing Registration No. BR07PB-7037, Chassis No. MAT751035 JFH14901 and Engine No. 3LNGDICR10HRY508419 as also during the course of checking they found one Black backpack lying on the career of the bus, however none of the passengers sitting in the said bus had admitted the ownership of the said backpack, whereafter the same was opened and 11.52 liters of illicit liquor was recovered. The driver and khalasi (helper) were arrested leading to lodging of Bahadurpur P.S. Case No. 176 of

2024 dt. 05.5.2024 under Section 30 (a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act , 2016 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act, 2016’). 3. The owner of the vehicle in question i.e. the petitioner had appeared before the learned Court of Collector-cum-District Magistrate, Darbhanga in Excise Confiscation Case No. 177/Excise/2024, whereupon the learned Collector-cum-District Magistrate, Darbhanga by an order dt. 16.08.2024 had assessed the penalty amount to the tune of Rs. Five lacs (Rs. 5,00,000/-) along with additional penalty amount of Rs. 15,000/- to be deposited with the concerned authorities as also had directed that upon deposit of the said amount, appropriate action be taken for releasing the vehicle in question. The petitioner had challenged the order dt. 16.8.2024 before the Commissioner Excise, Bihar, Patna by filing an appeal bearing Excise Appeal Case No. 94 of 2024, however the same was dismissed by an order dated 12.11.2024. The petitioner had then challenged the aforesaid two orders dated 16.08.2024 and 12.11.2024 before the revisional authority by filing a revision petition bearing Excise Revision Case No. 04/2025 & the Secretary (Prohibition & Excise), Bihar, Patna by an order dated 15.05.2025 has reduced the penalty amount to 20% of the latest insured value.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that since the bus of the petitioner was being used to ferry passengers and at the time when the search and seizure of illicit liquor was made, passengers were seated in the bus in question and the bus was being driven by the driver as also was manned by a khalasi (helper), hence it cannot be said that either there was consent of the petitioner or the connivance of the petitioner in the alleged occurrence much less in the use of the bus in question for ferrying illicit liquor, which in any view of the mat