Bihar prohibition law draconian, says HC; orders release of man's property

PATNA: Provisions on seizure and confiscation of vehicles or buildings used to commit offences punishable under Bihar's liquor prohibition law are "draconian", Patna HC has said, calling for extreme caution during their application, reported.A division bench of acting Chief Justice PB Bajanthri and Justice SB Pd Singh said authorities were exercising unfettered power under the law, and allowed a writ petition by Mahendra Singh for the immediate release of the ground floor of his house. The floor was sealed following the recovery of illicit spirit containers from a rental unit. On May 21 last year, police raided the petitioner's house and sealed the ground floor after finding spirit containers. The raid was conducted on the disclosure of an autorickshaw driver who told cops he had been transporting items banned under the liquor law on instructions of Randhir Kumar, a homeopathic practitioner and a tenant of the ground floor unit of the house. Petitioner's counsel said there was no proof implicating his client in illegal trade. "For illegal activities committed by a tenant, the landlord shouldn't face consequences." HC said confiscating the ground floor due to recovery of liquor or banned spirit containers from rented rooms was sheer arbitrariness.