Patna High Court
Pawan Kumar @ Pawan RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to bond, sureties and verification of antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Pawan Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for allegedly recovering 12 litres of liquor from a field belonging to Raj Kumar. He argued he has a clean antecedent, the liquor was not in his possession, and the complaint was filed by a watchman (chowkidar) with whom he has a hostile relationship, raising doubts about the prosecution's case. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs. 500 and two sureties, subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent by the trial court. If any prior case is found, the bail may be revoked; otherwise, the provisional bail will be confirmed. The order was pronounced by Justice Satyavrat Verma.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the circumstances, including lack of possession and alleged hostile informant, justify granting anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Excise Act — s. 30(a)
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offence
- Section 30
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.25729 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-37 Year-2026 Thana- SARAI RANJAN District- Samastipur
======================================================
Pawan Kumar @ Pawan Rai S/o Kamlesh Rai Resident of Village- Naua
Chak, ward no. 06, Bhagwatpur, P.S.- Sarairanjan, Dist.- Samastipur, Bihar,
India
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Manish Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Chandra Bhushan Prasad, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 25-06-2026 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 12 litres of liquor from a place near a jackfruit tree
in the field of Raj Kumar.
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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25729 of 2026(3) dt.25-06-2026
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and is accessible to villagers at large and he came to be
implicated at 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.
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 Sarairanjan P.S. Case No. 37 of 2026, 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
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Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
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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