Patna High Court
Jitendra JhaversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court held that provisional anticipatory bail may be granted subject to conditions and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Jitendra Jha, was implicated in a case under Sections 30(a) and 41(1) of the Bihar Excise Act for the alleged recovery of 459 litres of liquor from his pickup vehicle. He argued that he had no knowledge of the driver’s alleged misuse of the vehicle and that nothing was found in his conscious possession. The State opposed his request for anticipatory bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of a Rs. 500 bail bond, two sureties of the same amount, and subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would be revoked, but if the petitioner is found to have a clean record, the provisional bail would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case arising under the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether ownership of the vehicle used in the alleged offence is sufficient to justify denial of anticipatory bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s alleged lack of knowledge and clean antecedent affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- vehicle ownership
- clean antecedent
- bail conditions
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.14820 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-240 Year-2025 Thana- KISHANPUR District- Supaul
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Jitendra Jha S/O Raghubansh Jha R/o- Ganganagar Road No.-2, Santoshi
Nagar, P.S.- Siliguri, District- Darjeeling, State- West Bengal.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar Patna
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Chandra Shekhar Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Arun Kumar
======================================================
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.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a) and
41(1) of the Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 459 litres of liquor from a pickup vehicle.
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 he came to be
implicated based on the fact that he is owner of the seized
vehicle. It is next submitted that no prudent person would use
his own vehicle for committing an occurrence and thus would
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create evidence against himself and hence would get implicated
and at the same time shall bring disrepute to his business, it is
further submitted that petitioner was completely unaware that
his driver would misuse the vehicle in the manner as alleged,
who also fled from the spot.
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 within a period of six weeks
from today, be released on Provisional anticipatory bail on
furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) 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 Kishanpur P.S. Case No. 240 of 2025, 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
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even 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
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confirmed, but after verification if 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)
Sumit/-
U T
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