Patna High Court
Chotan YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioners, subject to bail bonds, verification of antecedents, and compliance with Section 482(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Summary
Petitioners Chotan Yadav and Dharmendra Kumar sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Sections 30(a), 32 and 41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, alleging that the recovery of 200 litres of liquor was based solely on a confessional statement made by Santosh Kumar while in police custody, which they contended lacked evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after hearing counsel, directed that the petitioners be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5,000 each with two sureties, subject to verification of their criminal antecedents and compliance with Section 482(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The order further stipulated that if verification reveals undisclosed antecedents, the bail would not be confirmed, whereas clean antecedents would lead to immediate confirmation. The petitioners also undertook to deposit Rs.2,500 each with the High Court Legal Services Committee. The application for anticipatory bail was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in offences punishable under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether a confessional statement made in police custody has evidentiary value for the purpose of arrest.
- Whether the petitioners' criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- confessional statement
- criminal antecedent
- Section 482
- bail bond
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6181 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-90 Year-2025 Thana- Bhopatpur District- East Champaran
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1. Chotan Yadav Son of Late Ramayodhya Rai Resident of Village - Bairagi
Tola, P.S. - Kalyanpur, Dist. - East Champaran.
2. Dharmendra Kumar Son of Lalbabu Rai Resident of Village - Bairagi Tola,
P.S. - Kalyanpur, Dist. - East Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Chandra Bhushan Prasad, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 04-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr.
Chandra Bhushan Prasad, learned APP for the State.
2. Petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a), 32
and 41(1) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no.1 is a person with clean antecedent and petitioner
no.2 has antecedent of one case and allegation is of recovery of
200 litres of liquor from a Bolero vehicle. It is next submitted
that petitioners were not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing
was recovered from their conscious possession and are not the
owner of the seized vehicle and came to be implicated based on
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6181 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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confessional statement of Santosh Kumar in police custody,
which does not have any evidentiary value.
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.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) each with two
sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned
Special Judge Excise Court No.-1, Motihari, East Champaran in
connection with Bhopatpur P.S. Case No.90 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 petitioners shall
verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioners and in the event,
if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent of even one case
and petitioner no.2 has antecedent of more than one case, then it
would be presumed that petitioners for the purposes of obtaining
anticipatory bail had concealed their antecedent before this
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6181 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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Court, in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail
order shall not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found
that petitioner no.1 is a person with clean antecedent and
petitioner no.2 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 petitioners,
based on instruction, submits that petitioners undertake to
deposit an amount of Rs.2500/- each with High Court Legal
Services Committee, Patna within a period of two weeks from
today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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