Shio Kumar Prasad v. The State of Bihar

Patna HC24 Jun 2026CWJC/8713/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Bihar and Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act 1914; Section 7 notice; Section 9 objection; Section 10 reasoned order; certificate proceedings maintainability; Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation (BSFC); Muzaffarpur; East Champaran; writ petition disposed at admission; 12-week timeline; opportunity of hearing; interim stay of coercive steps; Patna High Court CWJC 8713 of 2026; A. Abhishek Reddy, J.

What did the court decide?

Writ petition disposed of at admission with directions: authorities to consider the petitioner's Section 9 objection and the maintainability of the BSFC certificate proceedings, pass a reasoned order under Section 10 of the Act within 12 weeks after affording hearing and communicating the order; interim direction not to take coercive steps till final orders. ¶¶19

Shio Kumar Prasad 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 certificate proceedings initiated by the Respondent-BSFC against the petitioner under the Bihar and Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act, 1914 are maintainable, to be considered along with the petitioner's objection filed under Section 9 of the Act.

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Court's answer

Without going into merits, the writ petition is disposed of at the stage of admission with the consent of both counsel, directing the authorities to consider the petitioner's objection filed under Section 9 of the Bihar and Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act, 1914 and pass a reasoned order under Section 10 of the Act, duly considering the maintainability of the certificate proceedings initiated by the Respondent-BSFC.

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Ratio / Principle

The entire exercise of considering the objection and passing the reasoned order shall be completed as expeditiously as possible, preferably within 12 weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of the order.

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Key takeaways

The petitioner shall be given an opportunity of hearing before any orders are passed, and any orders passed shall be communicated to the petitioner.ratio¶¶24
Until final orders are passed, the authorities are directed not to take any coercive steps against the petitioner; however, if the petitioner does not cooperate in the final disposal of the case, the authority is free to pass necessary orders strictly in accordance with law.ratio¶¶25

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Patna High Court (A. Abhishek Reddy, J.), in CWJC No.8713 of 2026 (decided 24-06-2026), disposed of the writ petition at the stage of admission with the consent of counsel, without entering into merits. The petitioner had already filed an objection under Section 9 of the Bihar and Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act, 1914 against a notice issued to him under Section 7 of that Act in certificate proceedings initiated by the Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation. The Court directed the authorities to consider the objection, examine the maintainability of the certificate proceedings, and pass a reasoned order under Section 10 of the Act, preferably within 12 weeks of receipt of the order, after giving the petitioner an opportunity of hearing and communicating the order to him. Till final orders, the authorities were restrained from taking coercive steps against the petitioner, with the caveat that failure of the petitioner to cooperate would leave the authority free to pass necessary orders in accordance with law.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.8713 of 2026

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Shio Kumar Prasad, Son of Late Kapil Deo Prasad, Resident of Village Pakari Dixit, Bhagyanagar, PS Kalyanpur, District East Champarna, Motihari (Bihar).

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... ... Petitioner/s

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Versus

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The State of Bihar through the Principal Secretary, Food and Consumer Department, Government of Bihar, Patna.

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The Managing Director, Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation, Bihar, Patna.

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The District Magistrate, Muzaffarpur.

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The District Manager, Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation, Muzaffarpur.

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The District Supply Officer, Muzaffarpur.

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The Block Development Officer-cum-Enforement Officer, Kanti, Muzaffarpur.

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The District Certificate officer-cum-Sub Divisional Officer, West Muzaffarpur, District Muzaffarpur.

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... ... Respondent/s

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====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Advocate. For the Respondent/s : Mr. Yogendra Prasad Sinha, AAG 7. For the BSFC : Mr. Shailendra Kumar Singh, Advocate. Mr. Utkarsh Utpal, Advocate.

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A. ABHISHEK REDDY ORAL ORDER

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2 24-06-2026

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Without going into the merits or demerits of the

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case, the present writ petition is disposed of at the stage of admission with the consent of both the Counsels.

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Having regard to the fact that the petitioner has

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already filed his objection under Section 9 of the Bihar and

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Patna High Court CWJC No.8713 of 2026(2) dt.24-06-2026 2/3

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Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act, 1914 to the notice issued to him under Section 7 of the Bihar and Orissa Public Demand Recovery Act, 1914, this Court is of the opinion that the ends of justice would be served if the present writ petition is disposed of directing the authorities to consider the said objection and pass a reasoned order under Section 10 of the Act. The authority shall consider the maintainability of the certificate proceedings initiated by the Respondent-BSFC duly taking into consideration the objection filed by the petitioner. The entire exercise shall be completed as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of 12 weeks from the date of receipt of the copy of this order. It is needless to mention that the petitioner shall

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be given an opportunity of hearing before any orders are passed. Any orders passed shall be communicated to the petitioner.

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Till such time the final orders are passed, the authorities are directed not to take any coercive steps against the petitioners. It is made clear that in case the petitioner do not cooperate for final disposal of the case, the authority is free to pass necessary orders strictly in

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Patna High Court CWJC No.8713 of 2026(2) dt.24-06-2026 3/3

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accordance with law.

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