Patna High Court

Pintu Chaudhary @ Pintu KumarversusThe State of Bihar

Decided: 5 May 2026
Disposal: DISPOSED
Bench: SATYAVRAT VERMA

Holding

The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to bail bond, sureties, and verification of the petitioner's criminal antecedents.

Summary

The petitioner, Pintu Chaudhary, feared arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, alleging that 18 litres of liquor were recovered from a spot in front of his house, not from his possession, and that the FIR omitted the informant's name. He has one prior criminal case. He applied for anticipatory bail, arguing lack of direct possession and procedural lapses. The State opposed the bail. The High Court granted provisional anticipatory bail, requiring a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties and directing the trial court to verify his criminal antecedents, with confirmation contingent on the findings.

Issues considered

Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under the circumstances of the alleged offence.
Whether the lack of recovery from the petitioner's possession and omission of the informant's name in the FIR affect the bail decision.

Legislation cited

Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 — s. 30(a)
B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)

Subjects

anticipatory bail
Section 30(a)
liquor seizure
criminal antecedent
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
bail conditions

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.29819 of 2026
                      Arising Out of PS. Case No.-20 Year-2026 Thana- SITAMARHI District- Nawada
                 ======================================================
                 Pintu Chaudhary @ Pintu Kumar S/O Rambilesh Chaudhary R/O Vill-
                 Jarahiya, P.S- Sitamarhi, Dist- Nawada (Bihar)
                                                                       ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                    Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr. Akhilesh Kumar
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Shyam Bihari Singh
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   05-05-2026                  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

                   Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of one case and allegation is of

                   recovery of 18 litres of liquor from a place in front of the door

                   of the petitioner. It is next submitted that petitioner was not

                   arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from his

                   conscious possession and even alleged recovery is from a place

                   which does not belong to the petitioner but then is adjacent to

                   his house and he came to be implicated at the instance of local

                   person 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.
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.29819 of 2026(2) dt.05-05-2026
                                                       2/2




                                  4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for

                     anticipatory bail of the petitioner.

                                  5. 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.5000/- (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 Sitamarhi P.S. Case No.20/2026, subject to the

                     conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

                                  6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter

                     shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the

                     event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than

                     one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had

                     concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the

                     provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if

                     on verification 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)
amit/-
U      T

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