Patna High Court
Sanjay RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to verification of the petitioner’s antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Sanjay Rai, applied for anticipatory bail after learning that he might be arrested in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged recovery of 150 litres of liquor. He argued that the liquor was seized from a public area, not from his possession, and that his name was omitted from the FIR, indicating a weak prosecution case. The State opposed the bail, contending that the petitioner had prior excise cases. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition that the petitioner furnish a bail bond of Rs.10,000 with two sureties and submit to verification of his criminal antecedents. The order further stipulated that if more than two prior cases are found, the bail would be revoked, otherwise it would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the alleged facts and the omission of the petitioner’s name from the FIR justify denial of bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- provisional bail
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13744 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-13 Year-2025 Thana- DORIGANJ District- Saran
======================================================
Sanjay Rai S/o- Bachu Rai @ Bachachu Rai R/v- Purbi Balua Ps- Doriganj
Dist- Saran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Alok Kumar Alok, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Md. Anzarul Haque Sahara, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 12-03-2026 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 two cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 150 litres of liquor from a bush near
Panchayat Bhawan. It is next submitted that petitioner was not
arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from his
conscious possession and even the alleged recovery is from a
place which does not belong to the petitioner and is accessible
to villagers at large and he came to be implicated at the instance
of local person but then name of the person who disclosed the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13744 of 2026(2) dt.12-03-2026
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name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR, which casts an
aspersion on the case of the prosecution. It is next 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. It is further
submitted that petitioner in similar manner earlier also came to
be implicated in cases relating to excise.
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.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) with two sureties of
the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive
Special Excise Court No.3, Saran at Chapra in connection with
Doriganj P.S. Case No.13 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.13744 of 2026(2) dt.12-03-2026
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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 more than two 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 two cases, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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