Patna High Court

Umesh PaswanversusThe State of Bihar

Decided: 20 January 2026
Disposal: DISPOSED
Bench: SATYAVRAT VERMA

Holding

The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond, sureties, and verification of antecedent.

Summary

The petitioner, Umesh Paswan, feared arrest in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2018, alleging recovery of liquor from locations adjacent to his premises. He contended that he had a clean antecedent and that the liquor was not found in his conscious possession, nor on his property, and that the investigation was based on secret information. The State opposed the anticipatory bail application. The High Court, after considering the submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal antecedent. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith. Consequently, the anticipatory bail application was allowed.

Issues considered

Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2018
Whether the provisional bail should be conditioned on verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent

Legislation cited

B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)

Subjects

anticipatory bail
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Section 30(a)
Section 482(2)
liquor seizure
clean antecedent
provisional bail

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1082 of 2026
                       Arising Out of PS. Case No.-147 Year-2025 Thana- KALER District- Jehanabad
                 ======================================================
                 Umesh Paswan Son of Sitaram Paswan Resident of Village- Belaw, P.S.-
                 Kaler, Arawal, District- Arwal

                                                                                   ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                        Versus
                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :        Mr. Amrendra Kumar Singh, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :        Mr. Sanjay Kumar, APP
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   20-01-2026                  Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

                   APP for the State.

                                2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered

                   for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar

                   Prohibition and Excise Act, 2018.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of

                   recovery of 10 litres of liquor from a bush near the house of

                   Sunil Kumar and 70 litres of liquor near Kiosk of petitioner. It is

                   next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as

                   such, nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and

                   even alleged recovery is from a place which does not belong to

                   the petitioner but then is adjacent to his Kiosk and he came to be

                   implicated based on secret information which is the easiest way
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1082 of 2026(2) dt.20-01-2026
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          to implicate someone without holding a proper investigation.

                       4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail

          application.

                       5. Considering the submissions made by the learned

          counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner, above-named, in the

          event of his arrest or surrender before the learned Court below

          within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on

          provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bond in the

          sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the

          like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special

          Excise Court-II, Jehanabad in connection with Kaler P.S. Case

          No.147 of 2025, subject to the conditions laid down under

          Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

                       6. The application stands allowed.

                       7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after

          accepting the provisional bail bond of the petitioner shall verify

          the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is

          found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, then it

          would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining

          anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before this Court,

          in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall

          not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found that
               Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1082 of 2026(2) dt.20-01-2026
                                                           3/3




                         petitioner is a person with clean antecedent, in that event, the

                         provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.


                                                   (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Sanjay/-

U          T

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