Patna HC directs mines dept to videograph entire seizure process of vehicles

The court was hearing a petition challenging the seizure of a truck despite the fact that it had a valid challan issued, but the driver could not show it, while the authorities also did not bother to check the validity and went ahead with seizure

The Patna high court has directed the mines and mineral department pass orders to all the ground officials to ensure videography of the entire process involving interception and seizure of defaulting vehicles and handover the pen drive along with the seizure documents.

Patna high court (HT photo)

The court was hearing a petition challenging the seizure of a truck despite the fact that it had a valid challan issued, but the driver could not show it, while the authorities also did not bother to check the validity and went ahead with seizure and continued to hold up the vehicle despite production of valid papers.

“In this modern era of technology, when everything is available at the drop of the hat, the minimum that is expected from the officials carrying out such exercise is to videograph the entire process from the interception of a vehicle till its seizure as is done in the western countries to usher in greater transparency and avoid allegations,” said the bench of Justice Rajiv Roy.

The order passed on April 2 was uploaded on April 7.

The bench said that it has come across multiple such cases where the same stand is taken by the vehicle owner/mining official and the court’s direction to the department is aimed at “putting the whole cat and mouse game to an end”.

“While one contends that valid challan was produced, still interception/seizure took place, the stand of officials remain that on demand, no paper/challan was produced. Their success rate before the courts shall also improve if through video footage, the department is able to prove that the seizure has been made in accordance with law,” he added.

“Henceforth, the entire process of interception of a vehicle from the time it is intercepted to demand of papers, failure to produce the same and if vehicles are found overloaded etc, the same shall be videographed without any cut and along with the seizure document, the pen drive shall also be handed over and this fact be recorded in the seizure order,” the bench observed.

The court said that the exercise was necessary to save the department from the financial loss. For want of transparency, the whole exercise of seizure of the vehicle comes to zero in most of the cases. This transparency is again necessary to bring the litigation down and come to the actual fact on the point whether at the time of interception, the truck/ vehicle was having proper document to ply on the road or not and/or whether it was overloaded or not,” it added.

The order was passed in the presence of Special Public Prosecutor, Mines, Naresh Dikshit, with direction to the petitioner to approach Nawada mining official within three days for an order.

The petitioner had sought direction for quashing the illegal seizure of vehicle and its immediate release. The truck was carrying stone chips from Kodarma, Jharkhand, on a valid challan issued on January 11, 2026 and was to be delivered at East Champaran, Bihar, by January 13, 2026, while it was intercepted on January 11 itself barely a couple of hours after it started its journey and entered Bihar.