PANAJI
Amidst discussion in the Goa Legislative Assembly over the abandoned liquor-laden truck that caught fire at Dhargal last month, the High Court of Bombay at Goa has quashed the Excise Department’s suspension order against licensee Prajot Vaigankar. The department is also directed to hear the petitioner in person and decide the matter within four weeks.
Vaigankar had challenged the department’s order dated July 31, which suspended the liquor licences issued in his favour. A show cause notice was issued to him on July 17, following allegations that around 08:17 am, a Nagaland-registered container truck caught fire at Mahakhajan, Dhargal, Pernem. The driver and cleaner had absconded, and no documents for the liquor consignment were recovered.
The Pernem police registered a fire accident case, and upon inquiry, it was found that the container was loaded with boxes of liquor.
The liquor boxes were seized under a panchanama on the same day, with the excise officials alleging that the petitioner had misused his licence by exporting ‘Walbrue Premium Strong Beer Goan’ without a valid permit or payment of applicable government fees. Vaigankar was directed to respond to the show cause notice within seven days. In his reply on July 25, he denied all allegations.
The Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Nivedita Mehta noted that the petitioner’s reply was pending adjudication, and the department had passed the suspension order without hearing him or disposing of his response on merits.
“In the considered view of this Court, without affording an opportunity to the petitioner for a hearing and without disposing of the reply on its merits, the issuance of the suspension order is premature and unsustainable in law,” the bench ruled.
The Court quashed the suspension order while also directing the Excise Department to give the petitioner a personal hearing and decide the matter within four weeks.
