Patna High Court
Chandan Yadav @ Chandan Kumar YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties and verification of criminal antecedents.
Summary
The petitioners, Chandan Yadav and Raju Yadav, applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018 relating to the alleged recovery of 1,512.36 litres of liquor from Ghorhat village. They contended that they were not arrested at the spot, no liquor was found in their possession, and the information leading to their implication came from an unnamed local source not recorded in the FIR, thereby casting doubt on the prosecution’s case. The State opposed the bail. The Patna High Court, after hearing both sides, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 20,000 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioners’ criminal antecedents, with the bail to be confirmed or revoked based on that verification. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in an excise case where the accused’s possession of the contraband is not established
- Whether the use of secret information and lack of a named informant in the FIR vitiates the prosecution’s case
- Whether the petitioners’ prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30(a)
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018
- secret informant
- criminal antecedent
- Section 482(2)
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.30747 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-71 Year-2026 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Saran
======================================================
1. Chandan Yadav @ Chandan Kumar Yadav S/o Hareram Yadav R/o Village -
Ghorahat, P.S - Manjhi, Dist. - Saran.
2. Raju Yadav @ Raju Kumar Yadav S/o Suresh Yadav R/o Village - Ghorahat,
P.S - Manjhi, Dist. - Saran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Bishwajeet Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Renuka Ratnakar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 06-05-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no.1 has antecedent of four cases, out of which, one
case is under the Excise Act and petitioner no.2 is a person with
clean antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 1512.36 litres
of liquor from village Ghorhat. It is next submitted that
petitioners were not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from their conscious possession and even alleged
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30747 of 2026(2) dt.06-05-2026
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recovery is from a place which does not belong to the
petitioners and is accessible to public at large and they came to
be implicated at the instance of local person but then it is
submitted that name of the person who disclosed the name of
the petitioners is not disclosed in the FIR, which casts an
aspersion on the case of the prosecution, when petitioners have
not been implicated based on secret information. It is also
submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to
excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either through
chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret
information without holding a proper investigation.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their arrest or surrender 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)
each 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 Saran Sadar Excise P.S. Case
No.71/2026, subject to the conditions as laid down under
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30747 of 2026(2) dt.06-05-2026
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Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial court
thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners
and in the event if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent
of more than four cases and petitioner no.2 has antecedent of
even one case, in that event, it would be presumed that
petitioners had concealed their antecedent before this court, as
such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed with respect to those petitioners whose criminal
antecedent does not tally but if after verification the criminal
antecedent as recorded hereinabove tallies with the petitioners in
that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be
confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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