Patna: The Patna High Court has delivered a stinging rebuke to the Bihar administration over what it described as serious irregularities and possible corruption in the auction of vehicles seized under the state’s liquor prohibition law.
A division bench of Justices Rajiv Ranjan Prasad and Saurabh Pandey, hearing a petition filed by Sushil Kumar Singh, said the simultaneous auction of 490 vehicles in Muzaffarpur reflected a “complete disregard” for statutory rules and basic principles of fairness.
The case centred on a Mahindra Scorpio S-9 seized in 2020. The court found that the vehicle’s owner was neither served a proper show-cause notice nor granted a personal hearing before confiscation. Despite this, the car was included in a common confiscation order and hurriedly auctioned along with hundreds of other vehicles.
The bench expressed particular concern that the two-year-old Scorpio, with an insured value of about Rs 12.12 lakh, was sold for just Rs 3.85 lakh, raising questions about valuation practices and potential loss to the exchequer.
The judges also questioned how a motor vehicle inspector could have assessed 527 vehicles spread across 22 police stations within two days. There was no physical inspection, no photographic documentation and no scientific or practical basis for valuation. The court described the exercise as a “paper valuation” and warned of significant erosion of public revenue.
Further irregularities were noted in the conduct of the auctions themselves. Mandatory publication of auction notices in newspapers was not followed, while records showed that a small group of buyers repeatedly purchased multiple vehicles. This pattern, the bench said, strongly suggested collusion and the existence of an internal “racket”.
In its order, the court directed the state government to pay the affected vehicle owner Rs 12,12,517 — the full insured value — with 6% annual interest within six months, along with Rs 10,000 as litigation costs. The bench clarified that the amount would eventually be recovered from officials found responsible.
Taking note of the gravity of the matter, the High Court instructed the Economic Offences Unit to register an FIR, constitute a special investigation team and carry out a comprehensive probe into the entire auction process. The court also warned that similar auctions would be subjected to close judicial scrutiny in the future.
