Patna High Court
Baby KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail is granted, subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents, with conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
Summary
The petitioner, Baby Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged recovery of 200 litres of liquor from a public riverbank. He argued that no liquor was seized from his possession, the alleged recovery site did not belong to him, and the FIR omitted the informant's name, suggesting reliance on secret information. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs.5,000 bond with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents within six weeks. If more than one prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; if only one antecedent is found, the provisional bail will be confirmed. The order emphasizes verification of antecedents before final confirmation of bail.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the lack of seizure from the petitioner’s possession and omission of the informant’s name in the FIR justify granting anticipatory bail.
- Whether the trial court should verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents before confirming bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- secret informant
- bail conditions
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.14376 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-7 Year-2026 Thana- ALAMGANJ District- Patna
======================================================
Baby Kumar S/O Sumari Lal Sahni @ Sumir Kumar Resident of Gosain
Ghat, Jhoparpatti, infornt of Machhali Godown, PS- Alamganj, District- Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar Patna
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Ravi Shanker Pankaj
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Rabindra Kumar, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 13-03-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State, Sri Rabindra Kumar.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 200 litres of liquor from Raja ghat
near bank of Ganga river.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
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 public at large and he came to be implicated
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14376 of 2026(2) dt.13-03-2026
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at the instance of local people, but then the name of the person,
who disclosed the name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the
FIR, which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution,
when petitioner has not been implicated based on secret
information. It is further 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.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. 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 trial court within a
period of six weeks from today, be released on Provisional
anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 5,000/- (Rupees
Five Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the
satisfaction of the learned trial court where the case is
pending/successor court in connection with Alamganj P.S. Case
No. 7 of 2026, subject to the conditions as laid down under
Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14376 of 2026(2) dt.13-03-2026
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event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one
case then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of
seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his antecedent before this
Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner has
antecedent of one case in that event the provisional anticipatory
bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
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