TIRUPATI LOGISTICS PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner in the present case is a private limited company and has approached this court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to forthwith release 2450 cases of Kingfisher Strong Premium Beer-650 ML, seized in connection with Kishanganj P.S.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner that the consignment in question was being lawfully transported from Kalyani, P.O. Kalyani, District-Nadia, West Bengal to BEVCO Warehouse of the West Bengal State Beverage Corporation Limited at Siliguri, District Darjeeling in Vehicle Nos. WB 41 D 1202 and WB 23 C 1366. It is submitted that the goods in question were being transported in ordinary course of business and the petitioner had hired vehicles from various parties to transport the goods. It is submitted that the petitioner in course of his business under agreement with United Breweries Limited, Kalyani, Nadia, District West Bengal is required to transport its goods/Beer through the designated routes indicated in the transport permits. It is submitted that the vehicles in question were having transport pass and invoices duly showing the consignment in question and the transport pass were issued by the West Bengal Excise Department, Government of West Bengal. The petitioner alleged that while transporting the goods in question through N.H. 34 only but during a particular stretch of route near Kishanganj, Bihar, it happened that the drivers by mistake took the route of N.H. 31 instead of N.H. 34 and came into the territory of Bihar. The petitioner has tried to explain that it happened so because normally the trucks heading to Siliguri take N.H. 31 route in that stretch. According to the petitioner, it was a purely an unintended mistake on part of the drivers of the vehicles without any mala fide to carry the beer into the State of Bihar.

(3.) On the other hand, a counter affidavit has been filed by the District Magistrate, Kishanganj, who has stated that the two trucks in question were stopped during checking and as the drivers did not give any satisfactory answer about the loaded goods and on inquiry the trucks were found to be loaded with heavy quantity of Kingfisher strong premium beer, the vehicles with the beer were seized by police and a First Information Report being Kishanganj P.S. Case No. 212 of 2018 has been registered. The allegation in the First Information Report is that both the drivers illegally entered in the area of Kishanganj Police Station with the beer and such entry was contrary to route mentioned in the transport pass. It has been submitted that they had no permission to enter in N.H.-31, Kishanganj in any situation. According to the counter affidavit, under the provisions of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, the driver of the vehicle is obliged to obtain transit permission in the prescribed manner from the authority of the first check post falling en-route after entering into the State and shall surrender the same transit permission to the authority of the last check post before leaving the State and in the event of failure to do so within the stipulated hours of leaving the first check post falling en-route, it shall be deemed that liquor or intoxicants so transported have been sold or disposed off by the owner or the person in-charge of the vehicle within the State of Bihar. Under the new excise policy, it is also prescribed that there should be a digital lock on such vehicles passing through the territory of the State of Bihar, but in this case although provisions has not been complied with.