Patna High Court
Lalu Rai @ Vivek KumarversusThe state of bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL REJECTED
- Bench
- ANIL KUMAR SINHA
Holding
Anticipatory bail was denied because the petitioner’s prior criminal record and the nature of the alleged offence outweighed any claim of innocence.
Summary
The petitioner, Lalu Rai, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case (PS Case No. 43/2026) for alleged contravention of Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022, wherein 100.62 litres of English wine were seized from three motorcycles. He contended that he was falsely implicated due to village politics, that none of the motorcycles belonged to him, and that the police failed to follow Section 103 of the Bihar Narcotic Substances Act during the search. The court noted the petitioner’s four prior criminal records, including two similar offences, and relied on a Full Bench precedent (Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 431 of 2019). Considering the seriousness of the allegations and the petitioner’s antecedents, the court declined to grant anticipatory bail. The petition for anticipatory bail was therefore dismissed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under the circumstances of the case
- Whether the police complied with procedural requirements of Section 103 of the Bihar Narcotic Substances Act during the search and seizure
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents preclude the grant of anticipatory bail
Legislation cited
- Bihar Narcotic Substances Act — s. 103
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- illegal liquor
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- police procedure
- criminal antecedents
- section 103
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.18069 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-43 Year-2026 Thana- BHAGWAN BAZAR District- Saran
======================================================
Lalu Rai @ Vivek Kumar S/O Shiva Lal Ray R/O Vill.- Chotta Brahampur
New Basti, P.S- Bhagwan Bazar, Dist- Saran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The state of bihar bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Alok Kumar Alok, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Ajay Kumar No. 2, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR SINHA
ORAL ORDER
2 08-04-2026 1. Heard the parties.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in connection with
Bhagwan Bazar P.S. Case No. 43 / 2026 dated 20.01.2026 regis-
tered for the offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibi-
tion and Excise Act, 2022.
3. As per the F.I.R. a total quantity of 100.620 liters of English
wine has been recovered from three motorcycles near
Masumganj Masjid.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is
innocent and he has falsely been implicated in this case due to
dirty village politics. He further submits that the none of the
motorcycles belongs to the petitioner. He next submits that
name of petitioner has been disclosed by local persons and
except disclosure of local persons no material has come to
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.18069 of 2026(2) dt.08-04-2026
2/2
connect the petitioner with the present offence. The Police
during search and seizure did not follow the provisions
contained in Section 103 of the B.N.S.S.
5. Regard being had to the submissions advanced by the
parties, taking into consideration the nature of allegation, the
fact that petitioner has four criminal antecedents including two
cases of similar nature of offence and in view of Full Bench
judgment rendered in Cr. Appeal (SJ) No. 431 of 2019 (Ram
Vinay Yadav versus The State of Bihar), I am not inclined to ex-
tend the privilege of anticipatory bail to the petitioner. The
same is rejected.
(Anil Kumar Sinha, J)
praful/-
U T
Checking your session…
Lawyer court records for this case
Associated through the court’s case reference.