Patna High Court
Arun Kumar BhagatversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to conditions and verification of his antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Arun Kumar Bhagat, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly possessing 2.25 litres of liquor recovered from his house, which is a joint family property occupied by multiple tenants. He asserted that the liquor was not in his conscious possession and that he has a clean criminal antecedent. The State opposed his prayer for anticipatory bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs. 500 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s antecedent by the trial court. The order stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, the provisional bail would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s lack of conscious possession and clean antecedent justify anticipatory bail.
- Whether the High Court can impose conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS while granting anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2)
- clean antecedent
- joint family property
- liquor possession
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.1613 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-78 Year-2025 Thana- JOGSAR District- Bhagalpur
======================================================
Arun Kumar Bhagat S/O Om Prakash Bhagat R/O Muhalla- Kharmanchak,
D.N. Singh Road, P.S.- Jagdishpur, District- Bhagalpur.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Diwakar Upadhyaya, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Shyam Bihari Singh, 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 is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 2.25 liters of liquor from house of petitioner.
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 the house in
question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged
with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in
the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1613 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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knowledge. It is also submitted that 10-12 tenants reside in the
house, but then police in a mechanical manner implicated the
petitioner, since petitioner is owner of the house without holding
a proper investigation, at the instance of local person but then
the name of the person who disclosed the name of the petitioner
is also not disclosed in the FIR which casts an aspersion on the
case of the prosecution, when petitioner admittedly is a person
with clean antecedent.
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.
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 Jogsar
P.S. Case No. 78 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.1613 of 2026(2) dt.21-01-2026
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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 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)
Rishabh/-
U T
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