Patna High Court
Tetari DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to verification of the petitioners' criminal antecedents.
Summary
The petitioners, three residents of Musepur Nut Toli, applied for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code in connection with a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act for allegedly recovering 102 litres of liquor and 100 litres of semi‑fermented liquor from a public pond. The petitioners argued that they were not arrested at the spot, the liquor was not in their possession, and the FIR lacked the name of the informant, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. The State opposed the bail, citing the petitioners' prior excise cases. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on the filing of bail bonds of Rs.15,000 each with two sureties, and directed verification of the petitioners' criminal antecedents. It held that if the antecedent checks exceed the disclosed numbers, the bail would be cancelled; otherwise, the provisional bail would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioners despite their prior excise cases.
- Whether the FIR sufficiently establishes the petitioners' involvement in the alleged liquor recovery.
- Whether the nature of the alleged offence under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act warrants denial of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Criminal Procedure Code — s. 438(2)
- Excise Act — s. 30(a)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 438 CrPC
- Excise Act
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
- FIR
- public place
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.16431 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-358 Year-2025 Thana- DORIGANJ District- Saran
======================================================
1. Tetari Devi W/o Nanhak Nut @ Byas Nut R/o Village - Musepur Nut Toli,
P.S - Doriganj, District - Saran at Chapra
2. Bhuli Nut S/o Mahendra Nut R/o Village - Musepur Nut Toli, P.S - Doriganj,
District - Saran at Chapra
3. Ajay Kumar @ Ajay Kumar Nut @ Ajay Nut S/o Ranjan Nut R/o Village -
Musepur Nut Toli, P.S - Doriganj, District - Saran at Chapra
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Alok Kumar Alok
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Md. Matloob Rab
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 01-04-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioners seek bail in anticipation of their
arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under
Sections 30(a) of the Excise Act.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioners submits
that the petitioner no.1 has antecedent of three cases under
the Excise Act, petitioner no.2 has antecedent of two cases
under the Excise Act and petitioner no.3 is a person with
clean antecedent and the allegation is of recovery of 102
litres of liquor from a place near bank of a pond and 100
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16431 of 2026(2) dt.01-04-2026
2/4
litres of semi-fermented liquor which was destroyed at the
spot.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioners submits
that petitioners were not arrested from the spot, as such,
nothing was recovered from their conscious possession and
even alleged recovery is from a place, which does not
belong to the petitioners and is accessible to public at large
and they came to be implicated at the instance of local
person, but the name of the person, who disclosed the name
of the petitioners is not disclosed in the F.I.R., which casts
an aspersion on the case of the prosecution. It is also
submitted that petitioners have not been implicated based
on secret information. It is next submitted that police in
majority of cases implicating innocent persons either at the
behest of Chaukidar, local person, secret information and
confessional statement in a mechanical manner without
holding a proper investigation.
5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
6. Considering the submissions made by the
learned counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners, above-
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16431 of 2026(2) dt.01-04-2026
3/4
named, in the event of their arrest or surrender before the
learned Court below within a period of six weeks, is
directed to be released on provisional anticipatory bail on
their furnishing bail-bonds in the sum of Rs. 15,000/-
(Rupees Fifteen Thousand) each 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 Doriganj P. S. Case No.358 of 2025,
subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of
the Cr.P.C.
7. The application stands allowed.
8. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioners shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioners and in the
event, if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent of
more than three cases, petitioner no.2 has antecedent of
more than two cases and petitioner no.3 has antecedent of
even one case, then it would be presumed that petitioners
for the purposes of obtaining anticipatory bail had
concealed their antecedent before this Court, in that event,
the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16431 of 2026(2) dt.01-04-2026
4/4
confirmed, but if on verification, it is found that petitioner
no.1 has antecedent of three cases only, petitioner no.2 has
antecedent of two cases only and petitioner no.3 is a person
with clean antecedent, in that event, the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-
U T
Checking your session…
Lawyer court records for this case
Associated through the court’s case reference.