Patna, April 20 (IANS) The Patna High Court on Monday delivered a significant ruling reinforcing the strict enforcement of Bihar’s liquor prohibition law and underlining the seriousness of violations under the Act.

While hearing the case of Prayagdhwaj Yadav vs State of Bihar, a division bench comprising Justice Mohit Kumar Shah and Justice Arun Kumar Jha dismissed the petitioner’s plea seeking the release of a Hyundai Verna car that had been seized in connection with a liquor smuggling case.

During the proceedings, Advocate Saurabh Yadav, appearing for the petitioner through virtual mode, argued that the vehicle had been rented out via the Zoomcar platform to manage loan EMIs and that the petitioner had no knowledge of its alleged use in illegal activities.

Opposing the plea, Government Advocate Prashant Pratap strongly objected and informed the Court that a substantial quantity — 350.250 litres — of foreign liquor had been recovered from the vehicle, making it a serious violation under the prohibition law.

The State further argued that, considering the magnitude and seriousness of the recovery, releasing the vehicle would not be in the larger public interest and could set a wrong precedent.

After hearing both sides at length, the Court agreed with the State’s submissions and observed that the seizure of the vehicle was justified, especially given the large quantity of contraband involved in the case.

The Patna High Court also noted that the petitioner has an alternative and effective legal remedy available under Section 92 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, which allows for filing an appeal before the competent authority.

It emphasised that bypassing this statutory remedy and directly approaching the High Court through a writ petition is not maintainable under the law.

On these grounds, the Court declined to grant any relief to the petitioner and dismissed the petition as infructuous.

The Liquor Prohibition Act was implemented in Bihar in April 2016 by the then Nitish Kumar government, and it has continued to remain in force since then.

Recently, after the formation of the new government, leaders such as RLM MLA Madhav Anand, Mokama’s JD-U MLA Anant Kumar Singh, and several other leaders had demanded a review of the Act.

However, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary clarified that the liquor ban will continue to remain in force in the state.

–IANS

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