Patna High Court
Bablu Singh @ Ballu SinghversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court provisionally granted anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to bond, sureties, surrender within six weeks, and verification of antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Bablu Singh, sought anticipatory bail in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged recovery of 6.84 litres of liquor from a public bush. He argued that he was not arrested at the spot, no liquor was found in his possession, and the allegation stemmed from a hostile chowkidar rather than any substantive police investigation. The State opposed the bail, contending the seriousness of the offence. The Court, applying Section 482(2) of the BNSS, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs.10,000 bond, two sureties of equal amount, and a requirement that the petitioner surrender within six weeks. The order also directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents and confirm the bail if only two prior cases are found, otherwise the bail would not be confirmed. The petitioner further undertook to deposit Rs.2,500 with the Lawyers’ Association, Patna High Court.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the circumstances of alleged recovery and lack of arrest justify granting bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2) BNSS
- criminal antecedent
- police investigation
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.2489 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-345 Year-2025 Thana- BARAULI District- Gopalganj
======================================================
Bablu Singh @ Ballu Singh S/o- Late Nagendra Singh Resident Of Village-
Sarad, Ps- Barauli, Dist-Gopalganj
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Shailendra Kumar Dwivedi
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Ram Anurag Singh
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 28-01-2026 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 has antecedent of two cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 6.84 litres of liquor from a bush.
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
and is accessible to public at large and he came to be implicated
at the instance of Chowkidar with whom he is on an inimical
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.2489 of 2026(2) dt.28-01-2026
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term. It is next submitted that if the 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. It is further submitted that once an accused is
implicated in a case relating to excise, the police starts
implicating mechanically either at the instance of Chowkidar,
local person, confessional statement or secret information
without holding a proper investigation.
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 before the learned trial court within a
period of six weeks from today, be released on Provisional
anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees
Ten Thousand) 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 Barauli P.S. Case No.
345 of 2025, 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.2489 of 2026(2) dt.28-01-2026
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event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than two
cases 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 verification if it is found that petitioner has
antecedent of two cases in that event the provisional anticipatory
bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
8. At this stage, the learned counsel for the petitioner
based on instruction submits that petitioner undertakes to deposit
an amount of Rs. 2,500/- with Lawyers’ Association, Patna High
Court.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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