Created by Fuzzy Cloud

Patna High Court

Vikas Kumar Ray @ Vikas Kumar Yadav @ Vikash Kumar Yadav @ Vikash KumarversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of his antecedent.

Summary

Vikas Kumar Ray applied for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code in connection with a case under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act, alleging recovery of 70.110 litres of liquor from his joint family house. The petitioner argued that he has a clean antecedent, was not arrested at the scene, and that the liquor was not in his conscious possession, further contending that the amended Excise Act of 2018 has done away with the concept of deemed possession. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to the conditions of Section 438(2) CrPC, and ordered the trial court to verify his antecedent before confirming the bail. The court clarified that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail may be revoked. The application for anticipatory bail was allowed.

Issues considered

  • Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act where the alleged liquor is not in the petitioner's conscious possession.
  • Whether the amendment to the Excise Act, 2018, eliminating the concept of deemed possession, affects the bail considerations.
  • Whether the petitioner's clean criminal antecedent warrants the grant of anticipatory bail.

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • Section 30 Excise Act
  • Section 438 CrPC
  • clean antecedent
  • joint family property
  • liquor seizure

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.33483 of 2026
                    Arising Out of PS. Case No.-212 Year-2026 Thana- CHAPRA TOWN District- Saran
                 ======================================================
                 Vikas Kumar Ray @ Vikas Kumar Yadav @ Vikash Kumar Yadav @ Vikash
                 Kumar Son of Motilal Rai @ Moti Lal yadav Resident Of Village- Chhota
                 Telpa Ps- Chapra Town, Dist- Saran at Chapra

                                                                                 ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                      Versus
                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :      Mr.Dewendra Narayan Singh
                 For the Opposite Party/s :      Mr.Akbar Ali
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   14-05-2026                   1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and

                   learned APP for the State.

                                 2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his

                   arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under

                   Section 30(a) of the Excise Act.

                                 3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   the petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is

                   of recovery of 70.110 litres of liquor from house of the

                   petitioner.

                                 4. The 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 house in

                   question is a joint family property and thus, it cannot be alleged
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.33483 of 2026(2) dt.14-05-2026
                                            2/3




          with certainty that it was the petitioner, who had kept the liquor

          in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his

          knowledge and after Amendment in the Excise Act, 2018, the

          concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been

          done away with and he came to be implicated at the instance of

          local person, but the name of the person, who disclosed the

          name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the F.I.R., which casts

          an aspersion on the case of the prosecution, when admittedly

          petitioner is a person with clean antecedent.

                       5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail

          application.

                       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 Court below

          within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on

          provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the

          sum 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

          Town P. S. Case No.212 of 2026, subject to the conditions laid

          down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.

                       7. The application stands allowed.
               Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.33483 of 2026(2) dt.14-05-2026
                                                           3/3




                                      8. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after

                         accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify

                         the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is

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

                         would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining

                         anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before this Court,

                         in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall

                         not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found that

                         petitioner is a person with clean antecedent, in that event, the

                         provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.



                                                   (Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-

U          T


Continue reading with your account

Sign in to read the full judgment. It’s free.

Sign in to read

Checking your session…

Lawyer court records for this case

Associated through the court’s case reference.

For a signed copy suitable for filing, refer to the court's website.