Patna High Court
Ramashankar Yadav @ Vinod YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bond, sureties, and verification of his criminal antecedents.
Summary
Ramashankar Yadav applied for anticipatory bail after being implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged recovery of 489.540 litres of liquor. He argued that he was not arrested at the spot, had no possession of the liquor, was not the owner of the seized vehicle, and that the case was based solely on a confessional statement made by Manjeet in police custody, which he claimed lacked evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail, but the High Court, considering these submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.20,000 with two sureties, subject to Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The court also ordered that the trial court verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents, and if more than four prior cases are found, the bail would be revoked; otherwise, the provisional bail would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the confessional statement of a co-accused made in police custody can be the sole basis for arrest and denial of bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offence
- confessional statement
- Section 30
- Section 482
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- criminal antecedent
- bail bond
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1350 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-52 Year-2021 Thana- GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL COMP.
District- Gopalganj
======================================================
Ramashankar Yadav @ Vinod Yadav Son of Satyanarayan Yadav Resident of
Village- Bhopatpur Navka Tola, P.S.- Kotwa, District- East Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Bharat Lal, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 21-01-2026 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.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedents of four cases out of which two cases
are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of
489.540 litres of liquor from a pickup vehicle. It is next
submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such,
nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and is not
the owner of the seized vehicle and came to be implicated based
on confessional statement of Manjeet in police custody, which
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does not have any evidentiary value. It is also submitted that
once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise, the
police starts implicating mechanically either at the instance of
Chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret
information 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.20,000/- (Rupees Twenty Thousand) with two
sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned
District & Additional Sessions Judge-IV-cum-Exclusive Special
Excise Court No.-II, Gopalganj in connection with Excise Case
No.52 of 2021, 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1350 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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found that petitioner has antecedents of more than four cases,
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 petitioner has antecedents of only four cases, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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