Patna High Court
Sobha SahversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of criminal antecedents and compliance with bail conditions.
Summary
The petitioners Sobha Sah, Ramratan Kumar and Bhola Sah sought anticipatory bail after the police registered a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act alleging recovery of 105 litres of liquor from an orchard. They contended that they were not in conscious possession, the liquor was recovered from land not owned by them, and the informant’s identity was omitted from the FIR, casting doubt on the prosecution’s case. The State opposed the bail, arguing the seriousness of the offence. The Court examined the submissions and, noting the lack of direct evidence of possession and the procedural lapses, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.10,000 and two sureties. The order further conditioned confirmation of bail on verification of the petitioners’ criminal antecedents, with the bail to be revoked if the antecedent records exceed the stipulated limits.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act.
- Whether the absence of conscious possession and procedural deficiencies in the FIR justify bail.
- Whether the petitioners' prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offence
- possession
- criminal antecedent
- Bihar Prohibition Act
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2) CrPC
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12247 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-733 Year-2025 Thana- MOTIHARI MUFASIL District- East
Champaran
======================================================
1. Sobha Sah Son of Late Paltu Sah R/o Village - Gajpura, P.S. - Muffasil, Dist.
- East Chamaparan, Motihari.
2. Ramratan Kumar @ Ram Ratan Kumar Son of Sobha Sah R/o Village -
Gajpura, P.S. - Muffasil, Dist. - East Chamaparan, Motihari.
3. Bhola Sah @ Lakush Sah @ Bholu Sah Son of Laldeo Sah R/o Village -
Gajpura, P.S. - Muffasil, Dist. - East Chamaparan, Motihari.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Rajesh Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Parmanand Prasad
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 26-02-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no.1 has antecedent of two cases, petitioner no.2 has
antecedent of one case and petitioner no.3 is a person with clean
antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 105 litres of liquor
from an orchard. It is next submitted that petitioners were not
arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from their
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12247 of 2026(2) dt.26-02-2026
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conscious possession and even alleged recovery is from a place
which does not belong to the petitioner but then is accessible to
villager at large and they came to be implicated at the instance
of local villager but then the name of the villager who disclosed
the name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR, which
casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution. It is also
submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to
excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either through
chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret
information without holding a proper investigation.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their arrest or surrender before the learned Court below
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of
Rs.10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) each 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
Muffasil P.S. Case No.733/2025, subject to the conditions as
laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12247 of 2026(2) dt.26-02-2026
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6. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial court
thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners
and in the event if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent
of more than two cases, petitioner no.2 has antecedent of more
than one case and petitioner no.3 has antecedent of even one
case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioners had
concealed their antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed with
respect to those petitioners whose criminal antecedent does not
tally but if after verification the criminal antecedent as recorded
hereinabove tallies with the petitioners in that event the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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