Patna High Court
Rohit KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Ownership of the vehicle without proof of possession or prior criminal antecedent does not preclude the grant of anticipatory bail.
Summary
The petitioner, Rohit Kumar, sought anticipatory bail after a seizure of 34.5 litres of liquor from a motorcycle he owned, alleging he had no knowledge of the contravention and a clean criminal record. The State opposed the bail, arguing the seizure implicated him under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act. The court noted that the petitioner was not caught in possession and the vehicle’s ownership alone did not constitute sufficient evidence of guilt. It granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a modest bond and sureties, subject to verification of his antecedents by the trial court. The order stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would be revoked, otherwise it would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether the ownership of a vehicle from which liquor was seized is sufficient grounds to deny anticipatory bail under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of direct possession justify the grant of anticipatory bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- vehicle ownership
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12122 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-320 Year-2025 Thana- ARA MUFFSIL District- Bhojpur
======================================================
Rohit Kumar S/o Brij Kishor Chaudhary Resident of Village - Sarangpur,
P.S.- Ara Muffasil, District - Bhojpur
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ajay Kumar Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Braj Kishore Pd., APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 26-02-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 34.5 liters of liquor from a motorcycle.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not apprehended from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from his conscious possession and he came to be
implicated based on the fact that he is owner of the seized
vehicle. It is next submitted that no prudent person would use
his own vehicle for committing an occurrence and thus would
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12122 of 2026(2) dt.26-02-2026
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create evidence against himself and hence would get implicated,
it is also submitted that petitioner was completely unaware that
his brother, Dev, would misuse the vehicle in the manner as
alleged who also fled from the spot along with Ranjit.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. 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 Trial Court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.
500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the like
amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where
the case is pending/successor court in connection with Ara
Muffasil P.S. Case No. 320 of 2025 subject to the conditions as
laid down under Section 482 (2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
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
seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his antecedent before this
Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner is a
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12122 of 2026(2) dt.26-02-2026
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person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-
U T
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