Patna High Court

Bittu YadavversusThe State of Bihar

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

Holding

The Court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner.

Summary

The petitioner, Bittu Yadav, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act, where 9 litres of liquor were allegedly recovered from a motorcycle. He argued that he was not caught in possession, was not the vehicle owner, and the case relied solely on a confessional statement of another accused, which he claimed lacked evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition that the petitioner furnish a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties and appear before the trial court within six weeks. The order further directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents, stating that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would not be confirmed, whereas confirmation would follow if only one antecedent is verified. The bail was granted subject to Section 482(2) of the BNSS.

Issues considered

Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in the excise case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
Whether the reliance on a confessional statement of another accused provides sufficient ground to deny bail.

Legislation cited

BNSS — s. 482(2)

Subjects

anticipatory bail
excise law
confessional statement
Section 30
Bihar Excise Act
Section 482
criminal procedure

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1583 of 2026
                      Arising Out of PS. Case No.-373 Year-2024 Thana- KATEYA District- Gopalganj
                 ======================================================
                 Bittu Yadav S/o Dewendra Yadav R/o Village- Kanchanpur, P.S.- Kateya,
                 District- Gopalganj

                                                                                   ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                       Versus
                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr. Adesh Raj Singh, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Bishweshwar Ram, APP
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   21-01-2026                  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 Section 30(a) of the

                   Bihar Excise Act.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of one case under the excise act and

                   allegation is of recovery of 9 liters of liquor from a motorcycle.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner was not apprehended 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 apprehended accused in police

                   custody which does not have any evidentiary value. It is also
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1583 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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          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 Kateya

          P.S. Case No. 373 of 2024 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 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
            Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1583 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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                      anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but after

                      verification if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of one

                      case only, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order

                      shall be confirmed forthwith.



                                                              (Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-

U      T

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