Patna High Court
Laddu Sahani @ Krishna Mohan SahaniversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL GRANTED
- Bench
- RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
Holding
In the absence of evidence of conscious possession, the court held that bail must be granted subject to prescribed conditions.
Summary
Laddu Sahani was arrested in connection with the seizure of 200 litres of country-made liquor under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act. The petitioner contended that he had no conscious possession of the liquor and was falsely implicated, relying on the fact that the seizure was made from a tempo he did not own and that identification was solely based on a local chaukidar’s statement. The State opposed bail, citing the chaukidar’s identification and the petitioner’s other pending cases of a similar nature. The court examined the lack of material linking the petitioner to the seized liquor and noted that no evidence of conscious possession was presented. Consequently, the court granted bail on a bond of Rs.10,000 with two sureties, imposing conditions of cooperation, appearance, non‑tampering with evidence, and verification of criminal antecedents. The bail order was directed to be implemented without delay for verification purposes.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted when no material establishes the accused's conscious possession of the contraband.
- Whether identification by a local chaukidar alone suffices to justify continued detention.
- Whether the existence of other pending cases of a similar nature bars the grant of bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act — s. 30(a)
Subjects
- bail
- prohibition law
- excise
- illegal liquor
- possession
- criminal procedure
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.19682 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-723 Year-2025 Thana- HARSIDHI District- East Champaran
======================================================
Laddu Sahani @ Krishna Mohan Sahani Son of Lalan Sahani @ Lalan Sahni
Resident of Village- Panchbhirwa, Damovriti, P.S.- Harsidhi, District- East
Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner : Mr. Dhurendra Kumar, Advocate
For the State : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Sharma, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 25-03-2026 Heard Mr. Dhurendra Kumar, learned counsel for
the petitioner and Mr. Sanjay Kumar Sharma, learned APP for
the State.
2. Petitioner seeks bail, who is in custody since
11.01.2026, in connection with Harsidhi P.S. Case No. 723 of
2025, F.I.R. dated 24.10.2025 registered for the offences
punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition &
Excise Act.
3. Recovery is of 200 litres of country made liquor.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner is innocent and he has been falsely implicated in the
present case. He further submits that it appears from the F.I.R.
as well as seizure list that nothing has been recovered from the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.19682 of 2026(2) dt.25-03-2026
2/3
conscious possession of the petitioner rather recovery has been
made from the tempo in question and petitioner is not the owner
of the tempo in question and the name of the petitioner has been
transpired on the basis of disclosure made by local choukidar
and the local choukidar has disclosed that the petitioner was
present at the place of occurrence and he fled away from the
place of occurrence and except the aforesaid, no other cogent
material has come during investigation to suggest the
involvement of the petitioner in the present occurrence. The
petitioner is in custody since 11.01.2026.
5. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the
State has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail of the
petitioner and submits that the choukidar has identified the
petitioner and apart from aforesaid the petitioner carries four
more cases of similar nature other than the present one but fairly
submits on the basis of paragraph-3 of the bail petition that the
petitioner is on bail in the pending matters.
6. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case
and the fact that nothing has been recovered from the conscious
possession of the petitioner, let the petitioner, above named, be
released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees
Ten Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.19682 of 2026(2) dt.25-03-2026
3/3
satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special Excise Court No. 01,
East Champaran, Motihari in connection with Harsidhi P.S.
Case No. 723 of 2025, subject to the following conditions :-
(1) Petitioner shall co-operate in the trial and shall be
properly represented on each and every date fixed by the Court
and shall remain physically present as directed by the Court and
on his absence on two consecutive dates without sufficient
reason, his bail bond shall be cancelled by the Court below.
(2) If the petitioner tampers with the evidence or the
witness, in that case, the prosecution will be at liberty to move
for cancellation of bail.
(3) And, further condition that the court below shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in case at
any stage, it is found that the petitioner has concealed his
criminal antecedents, the court below shall take step for
cancellation of bail bond of the petitioner. However, the
acceptance of bail bonds in terms of the above-mentioned order
shall not be delayed for purpose of or in the name of
verification.
Ibrar//- (Rajesh Kumar Verma, J)
U T
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