Patna High Court
Tuna Kr. Ram @ Tuna Ram @ Tunna Kumar Ram @ Tunna Ram @ Tuna RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to bond, sureties and verification of antecedents.
Summary
Petitioner Tuna Ram was implicated in a case alleging recovery of 40 litres of liquor, charged under Sections 30(a) and 37 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022. He applied for anticipatory bail, arguing that he has a clean antecedent, that the alleged liquor was not recovered from his possession, and that the only evidence is a confessional statement of an accused in police custody, which he contends lacks evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail. 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 criminal antecedent by the trial court. The order further provides that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail may be cancelled; otherwise, the provisional bail will be confirmed. The application for anticipatory bail was therefore allowed.
Issues considered
- What is the appropriateness of granting anticipatory bail to the petitioner under the circumstances of the case?
- Whether the confessional statement of an accused in police custody can be the basis for denying anticipatory bail.
- Whether the absence of possession of the alleged liquor and a clean antecedent justify the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- liquor seizure
- clean antecedent
- confessional statement
- Section 482 CrPC
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1357 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-281 Year-2024 Thana- BHAGWAN BAZAR District- Saran
======================================================
Tuna Kr. Ram @ Tuna Ram @ Tunna Kumar Ram @ Tunna Ram @ Tuna
Rai S/O Dindyal Ram @ Din Dayal Ram Resident of Village - Naviganj,
Harijan Toli, P.S. - Bhagwan Bazar, District - Saran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shyamal Prakash, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Kalyan Shankar, 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 37 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 40 litres of liquor from Naviganj Harijan Toli. 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 he came to be implicated based on
confessional statement of apprehended accused in police
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1357 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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custody, which does not have any evidentiary value.
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 Additional
Special Judge-cum-Exclusive Special Court Excise Act-I, Saran
at Chapra in connection with Bhagwan Bazar P.S. Case No.281
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,
in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1357 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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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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