Confiscation by District Collector
Section 58 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 deals with confiscation by District Collector. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, where anything liable for confiscation under this Act is seized or detained under the provisions of this Act, the officer seizing and detaining such property shall, without any reasonable delay submit a repo
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, where anything liable for confiscation under this Act is seized or detained under the provisions of this Act, the officer seizing and detaining such property shall, without any reasonable delay submit a report to the District Collector who has jurisdiction over the said area;
(2) On receipt of the report under sub-section (1), the District Collector if satisfied that an offence under this Act has been committed, may, whether or not prosecution is instituted for the commission of such an offence and whether or not a case is pending before any court, order confiscation of such property;
(3) The Collector shall, before passing an order under subsection (2), give a reasonable opportunity to the person concerned, of being heard;
(4) While making an order of confiscation under sub-section (2), the District Collector may also order that such of the properties which the order of confiscation relates, which in his opinion cannot be preserved or are not fit for human consumption, be destroyed. Whenever any confiscated article has to be destroyed in conformity with these provisions, it shall be destroyed in the presence of a Executive Magistrate or officer ordering the confiscation or forfeiture, as the case may be, or in the presence of the Excise Officer not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector;
(5) While making an order of confiscation under sub-section (2), if the District Collector is of the opinion that it is expedient in the public interest to do so, he may order the said property or any part thereof to be sold by public auction or dispose of departmentally and proceeds deposited with the State Government;
(6) The District Collector shall submit a full report of all particulars of confiscation to the Commissioner of Excise within one month of such confiscation.
Section 58, Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 (Act 20 of 2016).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Prabhat Pandey @ Mr. Prabhat Pandey vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases where a vehicle is seized in connection with drunken driving but no liquor is recovered from the vehicle, the confiscating authority must record a positive finding on the applicability of Section 56 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 before passing any confiscation order. The confiscating authority must decide this issue as a preliminary matter before proceeding with confiscation. The reasonable time period for completing confiscation proceedings under Section 58 of the Act is three months. Provisional release of seized vehicles should be granted pending completion of confiscation proceedings in cases where the vehicle is not liable to be confiscated or where there is inordinate delay.
On this section: Procedure for confiscation proceedings; Court interpreted 'reasonable delay' to mean completion within three months
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 58
What have the courts held on Section 58 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act?
Prabhat Pandey @ Mr. Prabhat Pandey vs The State of Bihar (08 Jan 2020) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Procedure for confiscation proceedings; Court interpreted 'reasonable delay' to mean completion within three months.
How do I find court cases under Section 58 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act 58, section 58 Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, section 58 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Prabhat Pandey @ Mr. Prabhat Pandey vs The State of Bihar (08 Jan 2020).
What should I read with Section 58 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it.
When was the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act enacted?
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act was enacted in 2016 as Act 20 of 2016. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions-In this Act, unless otherwise required in the context2273 words
- 95. Power of the State Government to make rules474 words
- 90. Application of certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973392 words
- 34. Penalty for mixing noxious substance with liquor385 words
- 30. Penalty for unlawful import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale, etc363 words
- 66. Externmentetc of notorious or habitual offenders361 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/a8435211-f601-4fe1-af00-b0112c40aa2e.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/bb1b0d0a-9d10-4063-8843-5275ff0dde4b/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.