Patna High Court
Rakesh Kumar @ ChhotuversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of his criminal antecedent, with the bail to be confirmed only if he is found to have a clean record.
Summary
The petitioner, Rakesh Kumar, sought anticipatory bail after learning of a pending case (PS Case No. 477/2024) alleging his involvement in the recovery of 90 litres of liquor from a public area near a cremation ground, under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. He argued that he has a clean criminal record, that the alleged liquor was not found in his possession, and that the location is public, making the accusation baseless. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs. 500 bond and two sureties, subject to 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; if the antecedent remains clean, the bail would be confirmed. The decision reflects the court’s discretion under Section 482(2) of the BNSS to prevent undue arrest while ensuring verification of criminal history.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under the circumstances alleged.
- Whether the alleged recovery of liquor constitutes sufficient grounds for arrest under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the trial court should verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedent before confirming anticipatory bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2)
- clean antecedent
- liquor seizure
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.23105 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-477 Year-2024 Thana- UDWANTNAGAR District- Bhojpur
======================================================
Rakesh Kumar @ Chhotu S/o- Mukesh Singh Resident of Village- Asni
Police Station- Udwantnagar District- Bhojpur Bihar
... ... Petitioner
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Akash Kumar Mishra, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Umanath Mishra, A.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 08-04-2026 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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 90 liters of liquor from a bush near a cremation
ground.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner was not apprehended from the spot as such nothing
was recovered from his conscious possession and even alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
and is accessible to public at large and he came to be implicated
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based on secret information which is the easiest way to
implicate someone without holding a proper investigation 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 Udwantnagar P.S. Case No. 477 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 confirmed, but after
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verification if it is found that petitioner has clean antecedent, in
that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be
confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Gaurav Sinha/-
U T
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