A division bench comprising Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Anil Kumar Upadhyay issued a notice to the chief secretary, directing him to explain "why such action is being taken which is not only creating difficulties for the citizens at large but also multiplying litigation".
The court passed the order on a petition filed by North Bengal State Transport Corporation, which had challenged the confiscation of one of its buses.
Sale and consumption of liquor in Bihar was completely banned nearly two years ago by the Nitish Kumar government.
The court was of the view that "when the bus belongs to a statutory corporation, the officers should not have taken the extreme step of seizing the vehicle and initiating confiscation proceedings".
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"Day in and day out, we are faced with a situation wherein for an offence said to have been committed under the Prohibition Act, actions are being taken by officers concerned in a manner which does not show application of mind and analyzing of the facts in a proper manner," the bench observed.
"Instead of proceeding against the owner and the driver, the entire household goods of the bank officer were seized and he had come to this court seeking release of his household items", the court said.
"If the officers responsible had analyzed the facts properly, inconvenience to the citizen stationed in Noida, who was transporting the household goods to Kolkata on transfer, could have been avoided," the court remarked.
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