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Patna High Court

Sanket Kumar @ PrinceversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

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

Summary

The petitioner, Sanket Kumar, was implicated in an Excise Act case (Section 30(a)) for the alleged recovery of 6.105 litres of liquor from a location adjacent to his house. He applied for anticipatory bail, asserting a clean criminal record and arguing that the alleged liquor was not in his possession and that the informant’s identity was undisclosed in the FIR. The State opposed the bail. The Court, considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to the petitioner furnishing bail bonds of Rs.500 with two sureties and complying with conditions under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C. The order also directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s antecedent, with confirmation of bail contingent upon a clean record.

Issues considered

  • Whether anticipatory bail should be granted under Section 438 Cr.P.C. in a case where the alleged contravention involves recovery of liquor not in the accused's possession.
  • Whether the lack of disclosure of the informant’s identity in the FIR affects the validity of the prosecution’s case for denying bail.

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • Excise Act
  • Section 30
  • Criminal antecedent
  • Section 438
  • provisional bail

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.38323 of 2026
                       Arising Out of PS. Case No.-2466 Year-2023 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Purnia
                 ======================================================
                 Sanket Kumar @ Prince S/o Sri Vijay Paswan Resident of Village - Bangali
                 Tola, Ward no. 43, P.S. - Muffasil, Dist. - Purnea.

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

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :         Mr.Amit Kumar Anand
                 For the Opposite Party/s :         Mr.Mritunjay Kumar Nirala
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   17-06-2026                  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 6.105 litres of liquor from a place behind the

                   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 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.38323 of 2026(2) dt.17-06-2026
                                            2/3




          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 petitioner has not been implicated based on

          secret information.

                       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

          Excise P. S. Case No.2466 of 2023, subject to the conditions

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

                       7. The application stands allowed.

                       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
               Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.38323 of 2026(2) dt.17-06-2026
                                                           3/3




                         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


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