Patna High Court

Bullet YadavversusThe State of Bihar

Decided: 21 January 2026
Disposal: DISPOSED
Bench: SATYAVRAT VERMA

Holding

The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

Summary

The petitioner, Bullet Yadav, applied for anticipatory bail after fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, involving the alleged recovery of 32.4 litres of liquor from a motorcycle. He argued that he had a clean antecedent, the liquor was not found in his possession, and the case was based solely on a confessional statement made by another accused in police custody, which he claimed lacked evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The order is to be confirmed after the trial court verifies the petitioner’s antecedent; if any prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed. The application was allowed.

Issues considered

Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
Whether a confessional statement made by another accused in police custody can justify arrest and deny bail.
Whether the petitioner’s clean criminal antecedent warrants the grant of anticipatory bail.

Legislation cited

B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)

Subjects

anticipatory bail
Section 30(a)
excise offence
confessional statement
clean antecedent
provisional bail
Section 482(2)
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                               CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1361 of 2026
                     Arising Out of PS. Case No.-196 Year-2025 Thana- YADOPUR District- Gopalganj
                 ======================================================
                 Bullet Yadav S/o Govardhan Yadav R/o Village- Jadopur Briti Tola, PS-
                 Jadopur, District- Gopalganj

                                                                                  ... ... Petitioner/s

                                                       Versus

                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr. Lokesh Kumar Singh, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Binod Kumar, 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 (Amendment) Act, 2022.

                                 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of

                   recovery of 32.4 litres of liquor from a motorcycle. 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 Abhishek Manjhi in police custody,

                   which does not have any evidentiary value.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1361 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
                                            2/3




                       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 District &

          Additional Sessions Judge-XIII-cum-Special Judge, Excise

          Court No.1, Gopalganj in connection with Jadopur (Yadopur)

          P.S. Case No.196 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

          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
               Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1361 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
                                                           3/3




                         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

Continue reading with your account

Checking your session…