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Patna High Court

Jai Prakash Paswan @ J. PversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of his antecedent and compliance with the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the CrPC.

Summary

The petitioner, Jai Prakash Paswan, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly recovering 10 litres of liquor from a bush behind his house. He was not arrested at the scene and the liquor was not found in his possession; the alleged location does not belong to him but is adjacent to his property. The petitioner, who has a clean antecedent, sought anticipatory bail, arguing that the complaint was filed on the basis of a hostile watchman's information and that the watchman did not inform police earlier. The State opposed the 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, with confirmation of bail if no prior case is found.

Issues considered

  • What is the applicability of anticipatory bail under Section 482(2) of the CrPC in a case under the Bihar Excise Act?
  • Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of possession justify granting anticipatory bail?

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • Bihar Excise Act
  • Section 30
  • Section 482
  • clean antecedent
  • possession
  • criminal procedure

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.20238 of 2026
                       Arising Out of PS. Case No.-385 Year-2024 Thana- SONEPUR District- Saran
                 ======================================================
                 Jai Prakash Paswan @ J. P S/o Vidhur Paswan Resident of Village - Ganga
                 Jalj Paswan Tola, Police Station - Sonepur, District - Saran at Chapra

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

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr.Shakti Suman Kumar
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr.Syed Mojibur Rahman
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   31-03-2026               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 the

                   petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of

                   recovery of 10 litres of liquor from a bush behind the house of

                   the petitioner.

                             4.    Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the

                   petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was

                   recovered from his conscious possession and even the alleged

                   recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner

                   but then is adjacent to his house and he came to be implicated at
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.20238 of 2026(2) dt.31-03-2026
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          the instance of Chowkidar with whom he is on an inimical term.

          It is next submitted that if Chowkidar was aware about the

          involvement of the petitioner in the occurrence, then why he did

          not inform the police prior to institution of the instant 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 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 Sonpur P.S. Case No. 385 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 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
              Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.20238 of 2026(2) dt.31-03-2026
                                                          3/3




                        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)
Sumit/-

U         T


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