Patna High Court
Amit Kumar @ Ankit KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail with specified conditions.
Summary
The petitioner, Amit Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Sections 30(a), 33, 35, 36 and 41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018, alleging that liquor was recovered from premises not belonging to him and that he was not caught in possession. He contended that the FIR omitted the informant’s name and that the investigation was mechanically based on local tips without proper inquiry. The State opposed the bail, arguing the seriousness of the offences. The Court, applying Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C. and Section 482(2) of the BNSS Act, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a Rs.5,000 bond, two sureties, and a verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents within six weeks. The order further conditioned confirmation of bail on whether the petitioner has more than one prior case, and required a deposit of Rs.2,500 with the Patna High Court Advocate Association.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted under Section 438 Cr.P.C. in the present excise case
- Whether the alleged lack of possession and procedural deficiencies in the FIR justify the grant of bail
Legislation cited
- BNSS Act — s. 482(2)
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- liquor seizure
- Criminal Procedure Code
- bail conditions
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.4534 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-324 Year-2022 Thana- PALIGANJ District- Patna
======================================================
Amit Kumar @ Ankit Kumar Son of Pramod Singh @ Pramod Kumar Singh
Resident of Village - Nirakpur, P.S. - Paliganj, District - Patna.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Rakesh Bihari Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Khurshid Anwar, A.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 30-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a), 33,
35, 36 and 41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise
(Amendment) Act, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 28.12 litres of liquor from a place
near a rice mill and 30.75 litres of liquor from Sanskriti Bharti
Public School.
4. 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 alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.4534 of 2026(2) dt.30-01-2026
2/3
and petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the local
person but then the 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 further submitted
that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise the
police start implicating mechanically either at the instance of the
Chawkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret
information without holding a proper investigation of the case.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, let the petitioner above-named, in the
event of his arrest or surrender before the learned trial court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of
Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) 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 Paliganj
P.S. Case No. 324 of 2022, subject to the conditions as laid
down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial
court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.4534 of 2026(2) dt.30-01-2026
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it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case,
it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his
antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail
application in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall not be confirmed but if it is found on verification that
petitioner has antecedent of only one case in that event the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner
based on instruction submits that petitioner undertakes to
deposit an amount of Rs.2,500/- with the Advocate Association
of the Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from
today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Kundan/-
U T
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