Patna High Court
Raju ChauhanversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of his antecedents and compliance with the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Summary
The petitioner, Raju Chauhan, applied for anticipatory bail after learning that he might be arrested in a case under Sections 30(a) and 30(d) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, relating to the alleged recovery of 25 litres of liquor and a motorcycle from a brick kiln owned by another person. He contended that he has a clean criminal record, that the seized items were not in his possession, and that the police had mechanically implicated him by alleging ownership of the vehicle. The State opposed the bail, arguing that the material recovered justified detention. 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 antecedents by the Special Judge, Excise‑II, Aurangabad. The court further stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the provisional bail would be withdrawn; otherwise, it would be confirmed. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. and the anticipatory bail application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in a case under Sections 30(a) and 30(d) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the material seized and the alleged ownership of the vehicle justify denial of anticipatory bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s claim of a clean antecedent affects the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30
- Section 482
- clean antecedent
- seizure of liquor
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12012 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-81 Year-2024 Thana- RISIYAP District- Aurangabad
======================================================
Raju Chauhan Son of Krishna Chauhan @ Krishna Noniya R/O Village - Raja
Bigha, P.S.- Rafigan, District - Aurangabad.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Ms. Mukul Kumari, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Rana Randhir Singh, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 24-02-2026 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) and 30(d) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 25 litres of liquor from brick kiln of Kaushal Singh
along with a motorcycle. 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 and has no
concern with Kaushal Singh nor is the owner of the seized
vehicle, as has been pleaded at para-8 and 9 of the anticipatory
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12012 of 2026(2) dt.24-02-2026
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bail application but then police in mechanical manner
investigated and implicated the petitioner on the ground that
petitioner is owner of the seized vehicle.
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 Court of Special
Judge, Excise-II, Aurangabad in connection with Risiup P.S.
Case No.81 of 2024, 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,
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12012 of 2026(2) dt.24-02-2026
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in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall
not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found that
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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