Patna High Court
Rekha DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court held that provisional anticipatory bail may be granted pending verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent, and if more than one antecedent is discovered, the bail will not be confirmed.
Summary
Rekha Devi, a resident of Bettiah, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act, where liquor was allegedly recovered from a location adjacent to her house. The petitioner argued that no liquor was found in her possession, the FIR was based on undisclosed secret information, and she had only one prior excise case. The State opposed the bail, contending the seriousness of the offence. The court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs.5,000 bond with two sureties, subject to verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent. It directed that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, the provisional order would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under the Bihar Excise Act
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent affects the grant of anticipatory bail
- Whether an FIR based on secret information without disclosure of the informant is sufficient to justify denial of bail
Legislation cited
- Bihar Negotiable Securities Act — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- section 30
- secret information
- criminal antecedent
- Bihar Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.28165 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-197 Year-2026 Thana- BETTIAH CITY District- West
Champaran
======================================================
Rekha Devi S/o Late Vikky Malik Resident of Vill. - Naurangabagh, P.S.-
Bettiah Town, Dist- West Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Sitesh Kashyap
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms.Sucheta Yadav
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 28-04-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends her 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 one case under the Excise Act and is
a woman and allegation is of recovery of 10.6 litres of liquor
from a place near the house of the petitioner and 2 litres of
liquor from the house of Sakir Khan.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from her conscious possession and even the alleged
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28165 of 2026(2) dt.28-04-2026
2/3
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
but then is adjacent to her house and she came to be implicated
at the instance of local people, but then the name of the person,
who disclosed the name of the petitioner, is not disclosed in the
FIR, which casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution,
when petitioner has not been implicated based on secret
information. 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 her 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.
5,000/- (Rupees Five 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 Bettiah
Town P.S. Case No. 197 of 2026 subject to the conditions as laid
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28165 of 2026(2) dt.28-04-2026
3/3
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 more
than one case then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the
purposes of seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed her
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 one
case in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be
confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
Checking your session…