Patna High Court
Amitab Bachchan Chaudhari @ Amitabha Bachchan ChaudhariversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail is granted subject to bail bond, sureties, and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent cases.
Summary
The petitioner, Amitabha Bachchan Chaudhari, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act, where the police alleged recovery of liquor from a neighbour's house and concealed behind his house. He argued that no liquor was found in his possession, the recovery site did not belong to him, and the FIR lacked the name of the informant, suggesting reliance on secret information. The State opposed the bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.20,000 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. If more than four prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed; if exactly four, the provisional order would be confirmed. The order is subject to Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the absence of recovery from the petitioner’s possession and the lack of named informant affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents should influence the confirmation of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- liquor seizure
- secret informant
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.28807 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-83 Year-2026 Thana- NOKHA District- Rohtas
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Amitab Bachchan Chaudhari @ Amitabha Bachchan Chaudhari S/o- Late
Shankar Chaudhari R/Village- Shivpur South Baraon PS- Nokha Dist-Rohtas
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Babu Nandan Prasad
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Raj Kishor Singh
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 30-04-2026 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 four cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 5 litres of liquor from from the
house of Sarswati Devi and 15 litres of liquor concealed under
straw behind the house of the petitioner.
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.28807 of 2026(2) dt.30-04-2026
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but then is adjacent to his house and he 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 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.
20,000/- (Rupees Twenty 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
Nokha P.S. Case No. 83 of 2026 subject to the conditions as laid
down under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28807 of 2026(2) dt.30-04-2026
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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 four 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 four
cases in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall
be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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