Patna High Court
Kumbha Rai @ Rajendra RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court held that provisional anticipatory bail may be granted where the alleged offence lacks direct possession and the FIR is defective, subject to verification of antecedents under Section 482(2).
Summary
The petitioner, Kumbha Rai, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged recovery of 22 litres of liquor from a public bush. He argued that he was not in possession of the liquor, the recovery site did not belong to him, and the FIR omitted his name, indicating procedural lapses. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering these submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.15,000 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal antecedents. The order stipulated that if verification reveals more than three prior cases, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed. The application for anticipatory bail was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act where the accused claims lack of possession and procedural defects in the FIR.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offence
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- FIR defect
- criminal antecedent
- bail bond
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.14398 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-271 Year-2020 Thana- KHAJEKALA District- Patna
======================================================
Kumbha Rai @ Rajendra Rai Son of Girja Rai @ Giraja Ray R/o Village -
Sidhighat, P.S.- Khajekalan, District - Patna.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ravi Ranjan, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Chandra Bhushan Prasad, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 13-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.
Chandra Bhushan Prasad, 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 three cases under the Excise Act
and allegation is of recovery of 22 litres of liquor from a bush at
Sidhi Ghat. 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 is accessible to
public 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.14398 of 2026(2) dt.13-03-2026
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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.
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.15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand) with two sureties
of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive
Special Court of Excise, Patna City, District Patna in connection
with Khajekalan P.S. Case No.271 of 2020, 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14398 of 2026(2) dt.13-03-2026
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found that petitioner has antecedent of more than three 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 three cases, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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