Patna High Court
Bhola SahversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The anticipatory bail application is allowed, granting provisional bail subject to conditions.
Summary
The petitioner, Bhola Sah, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018 for allegedly possessing 25.92 litres of liquor in a dalan, though no arrest was made at the spot and the liquor was not in his immediate possession. He has eight prior criminal cases, six of which relate to the Excise Act, and argued that the evidence was weak and the complaint was prompted by a chowkidar. The State opposed his anticipatory bail application. The High Court, considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.40,000 with two sureties and conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S., including verification of his antecedents and a deposit of Rs.10,000 with the Legal Services Committee. The order stipulated that if more than eight prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- liquor possession
- Section 30
- Section 482
- bail bond
- criminal antecedent
- Bihar
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6192 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-90 Year-2025 Thana- Sinha District- Bhojpur
======================================================
Bhola Sah Son of Krishna Sah Resident of Village- Nathmalpur, P.S.- Sinha,
District- Bhojpur
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shiv Prasad Gupta, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Rabindra Kumar, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 04-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr.
Rabindra Kumar, 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, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedents of eight cases, out of which, six cases
are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 25.92
litres of liquor from Dalan of the petitioner. It is next submitted
that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing
was recovered from his conscious possession and Dalan is a
place outside the house and thus, is accessible to villagers at
large. It is further submitted that no prudent person would use
his own premises for committing an occurrence and thus, would
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6192 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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create evidence against himself and hence, would get implicated
and the petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of
Chowkidar but then it is 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 casts an aspersion on the case of the prosecution. It
is also 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.40,000/- (Rupees Forty Thousand) with two sureties
of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive
Special Excise Court 1st, Bhojpur at Ara in connection with
Sinha P.S. Case No.90 of 2025, subject to the conditions laid
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6192 of 2026(2) dt.04-02-2026
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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
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of more than eight 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 eight 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.10,000/- 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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