Patna High Court
Vishal DixonversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to a bail bond, sureties, and verification of his antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Vishal Dixon, owner of a vehicle from which 420 litres of liquor were seized, applied for anticipatory bail, arguing he had no conscious possession of the liquor and had merely rented the car to a ride‑sharing service. He contended that the police implicated him solely because he was the vehicle owner, despite the actual accused being arrested at the scene. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering the petitioner’s clean antecedent and the lack of direct involvement, directed provisional anticipatory bail on a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal record and compliance with Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the vehicle owner accused of liquor possession under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
- Whether ownership of the vehicle, without proof of conscious possession, suffices to deny anticipatory bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s antecedent record affects the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- liquor seizure
- vehicle ownership
- clean antecedent
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 482 CrPC
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1353 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-221 Year-2025 Thana- DUMARIAGHAT District- East
Champaran
======================================================
Vishal Dixon S/O Vinod Dixon R/O - Flat No.- 27, Block C- 8, Sector - 23B,
Dwarka, South West- Delhi 110077
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Vishal Prasad, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Nitya Nand Tiwary, 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 offences punishable under Sections 30(a) and 41(1) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 420 litres of liquor from a car. It is next submitted
that petitioner was not arrested 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.1353 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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create evidence against himself and hence, would get
implicated. It is also submitted that petitioner had rented his car
to Zoom Car Service and the apprehended accused Rohit Kumar
Singh and Vicky Singh had booked the car, who were also
arrested from the spot, but then police in mechanical manner
implicated the petitioner merely for the reason that petitioner is
the 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 Exclusive Special
Excise Court No.3, Civil Court, East Champaran, Motihari in
connection with Dumariyaghat P.S. Case No.221 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1353 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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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
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U
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