Disposed¶28

Akhilesh Kumar v. The State of Bihar

Patna HC22 Jun 2026CWJC/4051/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Release of seized motorcycle; Rule 12A Bihar Prohibition and Excise Rules, 2021; Form-IV application; Collector Nawada as Competent Authority; Govindpur P.S. Case No. 305/2025; illegal wine seizure; 720 ml foreign made liquor; writ disposed with liberty; statutory remedy not to be bypassed; penalty fixation guidance; 30 days + 30 days timeline.

What did the court decide?

Liberty to the petitioner to file an application in prescribed format (Form-IV under Rule 12A of the Rules of 2021) before the Collector, Nawada or an officer authorised by him within 30 days; such application to be considered and disposed of within a further 30 days, with penalty to be fixed keeping in mind the seized quantity (720 ml foreign made liquor) and previous involvement, if any. ¶28

Akhilesh Kumar Vs The State of Bihar — Patna HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, who sought release of his seized motorcycle after payment of penalty, should have availed the statutory remedy under Rule 12A of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Rules, 2021 instead of moving directly before the Court in its writ jurisdiction.

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Court's answer

The petitioner had not availed the statutory remedy under Rule 12A of the Rules of 2021 and the Court would not encourage the petitioner to avoid the statutory remedy available to him.

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Ratio / Principle

The writ application is disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to file an appropriate application in the prescribed format, i.e. Form-IV under Rule 12A, before the Competent Authority (the Collector, Nawada or an officer authorised by him) within 30 days from the date of the order.

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Key takeaways

If the application for release of the vehicle is preferred before the Competent Authority, it shall be considered and disposed of within a further period of 30 days.ratio¶30
Before fixing the penalty amount, the Competent Authority shall keep in mind the quantum of the seized liquor and the petitioner's previous involvement, if any; the petitioner remains free to place judicial pronouncements on the subject before the Competent Authority.ratio¶31

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Patna High Court, Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.4051 of 2026, oral order dated 22-06-2026 (Per Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, J; Coram: Rajeev Ranjan Prasad and Kumar Manish, JJ): Petitioner Akhilesh Kumar sought release of his Honda motorcycle (Regn. No. JH11AQ2403) allegedly seized by the Police Sub Inspector, Govindpur Thana, Nawada while carrying illegal wine, in connection with Govindpur P.S. Case No. 305/2025, after payment of penalty. Finding that the petitioner had not availed the statutory remedy, the Court declined to encourage bypassing it and disposed of the writ with liberty to file a Form-IV application under Rule 12A of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Rules, 2021 before the Collector, Nawada or an officer authorised by him within 30 days; the Competent Authority is then to consider and dispose of it within a further 30 days. Before fixing the penalty, the Competent Authority is directed to keep in mind the seized quantum — four Royal Stag bottles of 180 ml, totalling 720 ml of foreign made liquor — and the petitioner's previous involvement, if any; the petitioner may place judicial pronouncements on the subject before the Authority.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.4051 of 2026

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======================================================

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Akhilesh Kumar S/o Ramgilash Turiya, Resident of Village-Ektara, P.O.Sughari, P.S.-Nawada, Dist.-Nawada, State-Bihar.

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... ... Petitioner

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Versus

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The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary Excise Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.

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The Excise Commissioner, Bihar, Patna.

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The Collector, Nawada.

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The Sub Divisional Officer Nawada Sub Division, Dist.-Nawada.

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The Superintendent of Police, Nawada.

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The Superintendent of Excise, Nawada.

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The SHO Excise Govindpur Police Station, Dist.-Nawada, Bihar.

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... ... Respondents

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======================================================

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Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Anil Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mr. Pramod Kumar Verma, Adv. For the Respondent/s : Mr. Ravi Ranjan, AC to SC-22 ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD and

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HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KUMAR MANISH ORAL ORDER

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(Per: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJEEV RANJAN PRASAD)

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3 22-06-2026 Let the counter affidavit of the State be taken on the

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record.

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2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned counsel for the State.

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3. The petitioner in the present case is seeking the following reliefs:-

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“(i) For issuance of a direction to the Respondents to release the Honda motorcycle of the petitioner on bail bearing Registration No. – JH11AQ2403, Engine No. –

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Patna High Court CWJC No.4051 of 2026(3) dt.22-06-2026 2/3

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– JC94EG0623236, Chassis No. ME4JC941DRG167428 which was alleged to be seized by Police Sub Inspector Govindpur Thana, Dist. – Nawada carrying illegal wine in connection with Govindpur P.S. Case No. 305/2025.

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(ii) To direct the respondents to release the motorcycle to the petitioner after payment of penalty.

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(iii) To grant any other reliefs to which the petitioner may be found entitled in the facts and circumstances of this case.”

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4. On perusal of the writ application, it appears that the petitioner has not availed the remedy available to him under Rule 12A of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Rules, 2021 (as amended up-to-date) (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules of 2021’). He has moved directly before this Court in its writ jurisdiction. We would not encourage the petitioner to avoid the statutory remedy available to him.

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5 . This writ application is being disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to file an appropriate application in the prescribed format before the Competent Authority i.e the Collector, Nawada or an officer authorized by him in Form-IV under Rule 12A of the Rules of 2021 within a period of 30 days from today. If such an application for the release of the vehicle

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Patna High Court CWJC No.4051 of 2026(3) dt.22-06-2026 3/3

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is preferred before the Competent Authority, the same shall be considered and disposed of within a period of another 30 days.

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6 . Let it be recorded that four Royal Stag bottles of 180 ml, total being 720 ml of foreign made liquor have been seized from the vehicle in question. Therefore, before fixing the penalty amount, the Competent Authority shall keep in mind the quantum of the liquor as also the previous involvement of the petitioner, if any. It is open to the petitioner to place all the judicial pronouncements on the subject before the Competent Authority.

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(Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, J)

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( Kumar Manish, J)

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Abhishek/SUSHMA2/-

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Akhilesh Kumar v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Akhilesh Kumar v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

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What the court decided

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