Patna High Court
Mojaffar AlamversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL GRANTED
- Bench
- RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
Holding
The court held that bail must be granted as there is no substantive evidence linking the petitioner to the offence and he possesses a clean antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Mojaffar Alam, was arrested on 3 April 2026 in connection with a case involving the alleged possession of 129.9 litres of Nepali Kasturi liquor, alleged to be an offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act. The seizure was made from the vicinity of an Urdu school, not from the petitioner's conscious possession, and the seizure witnesses were Home Guard personnel, allegedly violating Sections 103 and 105 of the BNSS, 2023. The petitioner claimed a clean antecedent and that he was falsely implicated, arguing that only suspicion, not concrete evidence, linked him to the crime. The State opposed bail, but the court, after considering the lack of material evidence and the petitioner's clean record, ordered his release on bail with a bond of Rs 10,000 and two sureties, subject to conditions regarding cooperation, presence, and non‑tampering with evidence. The bail order also directed that verification of antecedents should not delay the acceptance of the bond.
Issues considered
- Whether bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act in the absence of material evidence linking him to the seized liquor.
- Whether the involvement of Home Guard personnel as seizure witnesses violates Sections 103 and 105 of the BNSS, 2023, thereby affecting the legality of the detention.
- Whether mere suspicion is sufficient grounds to continue the petitioner’s custody.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act — s. 30(a)
- BNSS, 2023 — s. 103, 105
Subjects
- bail
- Bihar Prohibition & Excise Act
- seizure
- suspicion
- clean antecedent
- BNSS 2023
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.33513 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-206 Year-2026 Thana- CHIRAIYA District- East Champaran
======================================================
Mojaffar Alam S/o Manzoor Dewan @ Manjur Devan Resident of Village -
Motnaje, P.S. - Chiraiya, Dist. - East Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Manoj Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Prem Kumar Jha, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH KUMAR VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 14-05-2026 Heard Mr. Manoj Kumar, learned counsel for the
petitioner and Mr. Prem Kumar Jha, learned APP for the State.
2. Petitioner seeks bail, who is in custody since
03.04.2026, in connection with Chiraiya P.S. Case No. 206 of
2026, F.I.R. dated 02.04.2026 registered for the offences
punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition &
Excise Act.
3. Recovery is of 129.9 litres of Nepali Kasturi liquor.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner has clean antecedent and he has been falsely
implicated in the present case. He further submits that it
appears from the F.I.R. as well as seizure list that nothing has
been recovered from the conscious possession of the petitioner
rather recovery has been made from the near the Urdu School
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.33513 of 2026(2) dt.14-05-2026
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and altogether 129.9 Litres of Nepali Kasturi liquor was
recovered from the place of occurrence and petitioner has been
made accused in the present case merely on the basis of
suspicion and except the suspicion, no other cogent material has
come during investigation to suggest the involvement of the
petitioner in the present occurrence. It appears from the seizure
list that the seizure list witnesses are Bihar Home Guard
personnel so there is non-compliance of Sections 103 and 105 of
BNSS, 2023 and the petitioner is in custody since 03.04.2026.
5. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the
State has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail of the
petitioner.
6. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case
and the fact that the petitioner having clean antecedents and
nothing has been recovered from the conscious possession of
the petitioner, let the petitioner, above named, be released on
bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten
Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the
satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special Excise Court-I, East
Champaran, Motihari, in connection with Chiraiya P.S. Case
No. 206 of 2026, subject to the following conditions :-
(1) Petitioner shall co-operate in the trial and shall be
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.33513 of 2026(2) dt.14-05-2026
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properly represented on each and every date fixed by the Court
and shall remain physically present as directed by the Court and
on his absence on two consecutive dates without sufficient
reason, his bail bond shall be cancelled by the Court below.
(2) If the petitioner tampers with the evidence or the
witness, in that case, the prosecution will be at liberty to move
for cancellation of bail.
(3) And, further condition that the court below shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in case at
any stage, it is found that the petitioner has concealed his
criminal antecedents, the court below shall take step for
cancellation of bail bond of the petitioner. However, the
acceptance of bail bonds in terms of the above-mentioned order
shall not be delayed for purpose of or in the name of
verification.
(Rajesh Kumar Verma, J)
Ibrar//-
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