Patna High Court
Guli Sah @ Goli Sah @ Gulli SahversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bail bond, sureties, and verification of antecedent cases.
Summary
The petitioner, Guli Sah, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act for alleged recovery of 20 litres of liquor near Sirani Canal. He contended that the liquor was not found in his possession, the alleged recovery site did not belong to him, and the informant’s name was omitted from the FIR, raising doubts about the prosecution’s case. The State opposed the bail, arguing the seriousness of the offence. The Court, after considering the submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal antecedents. It further held that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith. The application was therefore allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
- Whether the absence of recovered liquor in the accused's possession and procedural irregularities justify granting bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offence
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482(2) CrPC
- bail bond
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.413 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-285 Year-2025 Thana- MALAHI District- East Champaran
======================================================
Guli Sah @ Goli Sah @ Gulli Sah Son of Late Sukhdev Sah @ Late
Rikhadev Sah R/o - Sirani (Sirani Bazar), P.S - Malahi, District - East
Champaran, Bihar.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Binay Kant Mani Tripathi, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Akshay Lal Pandit, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 15-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered
for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar
Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 20 litres of liquor from a place near
Sirani Canal. 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 and is accessible to
villagers at large and he came to be implicated at the instance of
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.413 of 2026(2) dt.15-01-2026
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local person and Chowkidar but then it is submitted that 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. It is also submitted that if Chowkidar was aware of
the involvement of the petitioner in the occurrence then why he
did not inform the police prior to institution of the instant FIR,
which furtehr casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution.
It is next submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case
relating to excise, the police starts implicating mechanically
either at the instance of Chowkidar, local person, confessional
statement or secret information without holding a proper
investigation.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
5. 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-bond in the
sum of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) with two sureties of
the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive
Special Excise Judge-1, Motihari, East Champaran in
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.413 of 2026(2) dt.15-01-2026
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connection with Malahi P.S. Case No.285 of 2025, subject to the
conditions laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
7. 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 more than 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 has antecedent of only one case, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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