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Patna High Court

Chandrashekhar PaswanversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

The Court provisionally granted anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties, verification of antecedent, and a deposit, pending confirmation upon clean antecedent verification.

Summary

The petitioner, Chandrashekhar Paswan, sought anticipatory bail in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging recovery of ten litres of liquor from a field not belonging to him. He argued that he has a clean antecedent, that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, and that the complaint was motivated by an inimical relationship with the chaukidar. The State opposed the bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.500, two sureties of equal amount, verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent, and a deposit of Rs.1,500 with the Patna High Court Advocate Association. The order is subject to Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C. and Section 482(2) of the BNSS, and the bail will be confirmed only if the petitioner is found to have a clean antecedent upon verification.

Issues considered

  • Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
  • Whether the petitioner’s lack of possession of the alleged liquor and his clean antecedent justify the grant of anticipatory bail.
  • Whether the chaukidar’s alleged bias and failure to report earlier affect the merits of the bail application.

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • Section 30(a)
  • Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
  • clean antecedent
  • bail conditions
  • Cr.P.C. 438
  • BNSS 482

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.2693 of 2026
                     Arising Out of PS. Case No.-156 Year-2025 Thana- FESHAR District- Aurangabad
                 ======================================================
                 Chandrashekhar Paswan S/o- Baidhnath Paswan @ Baijnath Paswan R/v-
                 Alampur PS - Fesar Dist- Aurangabad
                                                                      ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                  Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                               ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Ms. Mukul Kumari, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Kumar Ranjit Ranjan, A.P.P.
                 ======================================================
                 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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the

                   Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of

                   recovery of 10 litres of liquor from a field near the canal.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   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 villagers at large. It is further submitted that

                   petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the

                   Chawkidar with whom petitioner is on an inimical term. It is
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.2693 of 2026(2) dt.28-01-2026
                                            2/3




          next that if the Chawkidar was aware of the involvement of the

          petitioner in the occurrence then why he did not inform the

          police prior to the 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, let 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.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 Fesar P.S.

          Case No. 156 of 2025, G.R. No. 2474 of 2025, subject to the

          conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the

          Cr.P.C./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 if

          it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, it

          would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent

          before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail application in
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.2693 of 2026(2) dt.28-01-2026
                                                       3/3




                     that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be

                     confirmed but if it is found on verification that petitioner is a

                     person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional

                     anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

                                  8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner

                     based on instruction submits that petitioner undertakes to

                     deposit an amount of Rs.1,500/- with the Advocate Association

                     of the Patna High Court.


                                                                         (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Kundan/-

U     T


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