Patna High Court
Kaka Rawani @ Santosh KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioners, subject to bail bonds, sureties, and verification of antecedent under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Summary
Petitioners Kaka Rawani and Deepak Rawani, proprietors of a hotel in Gaya, were implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016 for allegedly storing 38.5 litres of liquor and Rs.868 on the hotel roof. They argued they have clean antecedents, the liquor was concealed by customers without their knowledge, and no seizure was made from their conscious possession. They filed an anticipatory bail application fearing arrest. The High Court, after hearing both sides, directed that they be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs.500 each with two sureties, subject to verification of their criminal antecedent under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The order also required them to deposit Rs.2,500 each with the Advocates’ Association. The application was allowed, with the provisional bail to be confirmed if the petitioners are found to have a clean record.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioners are entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016.
- Whether the circumstances justify granting provisional anticipatory bail pending verification of criminal antecedent.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30(a)
- provisional bail
- criminal antecedent
- bail bond
- hotel liquor case
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6015 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-314 Year-2025 Thana- GAYA KOTWALI District- Gaya
======================================================
1. Kaka Rawani @ Santosh Kumar S/O Late Buchchan Prasad Rawani @ Late
Buchan Prasad R/O Village- Lakhibagh, P.S.- Muffasil, Dist.- Gaya ji
2. Deepak Rawani @ Deepak Kumar S/O Late Buchchan Prasad Rawani @
Late Buchan Prasad R/O Village- Lakhibagh, P.S.- Muffasil, Dist.- Gaya ji
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Vijay Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ramchandra Sahni, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 03-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioners are persons with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 38.5 litres of liquor along with Rs.868/- from the
roof of the hotel of the petitioners. It is next submitted that
petitioners were not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from their conscious possession. It is next submitted
that no prudent person would use his own hotel for committing
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an occurrence and thus, would create evidence against himself
and hence, would get implicated. It is also submitted that
customers keep coming and staying in the hotel of the
petitioners and it appears that some customers without the
knowledge of the petitioners concealed the liquor and the
petitioners came to be implicated based on secret information,
which is the easiest way to implicate someone 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 petitioners, the petitioners, above-named, in the
event of their arrest or surrender before the learned Court below
within a period of six weeks, are directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on their furnishing bail-bonds in
the sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) each with two
sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned
Exclusive Special Excise Court No.-4, Gaya in connection with
Kotwali P.S. Case No.314 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6015 of 2026(2) dt.03-02-2026
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accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioners shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioners and in the event,
if it is found that petitioners have antecedent of even one case,
then it would be presumed that petitioners for the purposes of
obtaining anticipatory bail had concealed their 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 petitioners are persons with clean
antecedent, in that event, the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall be confirmed forthwith.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioners,
based on instruction, submits that petitioners undertake to
deposit an amount of Rs.2500/- each with Advocates’
Association, Patna High Court within a period of two weeks
from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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