Rajasthan High Court directs Excise Officer to expeditiously decide plea for release of 1,500 boxes of BIRA Beer seized by Police

The Rajasthan High Court, on Friday, directed the District Excise Officer of Alwar to decide within a week a plea by the manufacturer of Bira beer to release 1,500 boxes of Original BIRA 91 Boom premium strong beer seized by the Rajasthan Police [M/s B9 Beverages Private Limited v. State of Rajasthan & Ors].

The boxes had been seized by Police on the ground that consignment was being transported in violation of Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950.

Single-judge Justice Mahendar Kumar Goyal directed the District Excise Officer of Alwar to decide the plea by B9 Beverages Private Limited, the manufacturer of Bira beer, expeditiously in view of the fact that the seized beers were approaching the end of their shelf life in August 2022.

The consignment of 1,500 boxes of BIRA 91 beer were dispatched on February 28, 2022 via road from Madhya Pradesh to the Bira's warehouse in Gurugram in Haryana.

However, the same was seized by the Rajgarh Police in Alwar alleging that the said consignment was carried in violation of Rajasthan Excise Act, 1950.

Consequently, an application was moved by Bira before the Excise Authority and Police Department for release of the seized boxes, but remained pending.

However, since beers were approaching the end of their shelf life, the present writ petition was filed before the High Court seeking expeditious decision on the plea before the Excise Officer.

In view of the dire urgency, the Court decided the petition without issuance of notice to the respondents.

"Respondent No. 3 (District Excise Officer) is directed to decide the application filed by the petitioner under Section 69 (2-B) of the Act of 1950 within a period of one week from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. The respondent Nos. 1 (State Of Rajasthan) and 2 (Town Inspector, Alwar) are directed to co-operate with the respondent No. 3 to comply the order passed by this Court," the Court directed.

The petitioner was represented by advocates Rohit Tiwari, VN Dubey and Ibrahim Kannodwal.

[Read Order]