Patna High Court
Pujan Yadav @ Shivpujan KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The application for anticipatory bail is allowed, with provisional bail granted subject to conditions.
Summary
The petitioner, Pujan Yadav, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, where 200 litres of spirit were allegedly recovered from a bush not belonging to him. He argued that the recovery was not from his conscious possession and that the police had mechanically implicated him without proper investigation, despite his three prior excise cases. The State opposed the bail application. The High Court, after hearing counsel, directed the petitioner to furnish a bail bond of Rs.15,000 with two sureties and granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to Section 482(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The order conditioned the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents; if more than three prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed. Additionally, the petitioner was ordered to deposit Rs.5,000 with the High Court Legal Services Committee within two weeks. The application was allowed, subject to the stipulated conditions.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 482(2) of the CrPC in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- Section 482
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- criminal antecedents
- bail bond
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6184 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-112 Year-2025 Thana- SALAIYA District- Aurangabad
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Pujan Yadav @ Shivpujan Kumar Son of Satendra Yadav Resident of Village
- Bariawan, P.S. - Salaiya, District - Aurangabad, Bihar.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Deepak 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 petitioner and Mr.
Chandra Bhushan Prasad, 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, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedents of three cases under the Excise Act
and allegation is of recovery of 200 litres of spirit from a bush.
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 but then is accessible to
villagers at large and he came to be implicated at the instance of
Chowkidar but then it is submitted that once an accused is
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6184 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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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. It is also submitted that
earlier also in similar manner, the petitioner came to be
implicated.
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.15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand) with two sureties
of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned District &
Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Exclusive Special Judge,
Excise-01, Aurangabad (Bihar) in connection with Salaiya P.S.
Case No.112 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 bond of the petitioner shall verify
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6184 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedents of more than three cases,
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 antecedents of only three cases, 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.5,000/- 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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