Patna High Court
Rajib Ranjan Bhagat @ Raju BhagatversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- BAIL REJECTED
- Bench
- PURNENDU SINGH
Holding
The court held that anticipatory bail could not be granted and dismissed the petition.
Summary
The petitioner, Rajib Ranjan Bhagat, applied for pre‑arrest (anticipatory) bail in connection with a case registered under Sections 8, 21C, 22C and 25 of the NDPS Act, alleging that narcotic substances were recovered from his shop. He contended that the substances were not in his conscious possession and that the shop is accessible to the public, thus negating any complicity. The State opposed the bail, arguing that the anticipatory bail application was not maintainable given the seriousness of the offences. The Hon'ble Justice Purnendu Singh examined the nature and gravity of the allegations under the NDPS Act. Concluding that the seriousness of the charges outweighed the petitioner's claims, the court declined to grant anticipatory bail and dismissed the application.
Issues considered
- Whether the anticipatory bail application is maintainable under the NDPS Act
- Whether the petitioner can be deemed to have conscious possession of the narcotic substance recovered from his shop
- Whether the gravity of the offences under Sections 8, 21C, 22C and 25 of the NDPS Act warrants denial of pre‑arrest bail
Legislation cited
- Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act — s. 21C, 22C, 25, 8
Subjects
- NDPS Act
- anticipatory bail
- pre‑arrest bail
- narcotic substances
- bail denial
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6521 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-423 Year-2025 Thana- AMARPUR District- Banka
======================================================
Rajib Ranjan Bhagat @ Raju Bhagat Son of Shankar Bhagat @ Shankar
Prasad Bhagat Resident of - Amarpur Ward No. - 12, P.S. - Amarpur, District -
Banka.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Ranjan Kumar Jha, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ajit Kumar, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PURNENDU SINGH
ORAL ORDER
4 05-05-2026 Heard learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner and learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks pre-arrest bail in connection
with Amarpur P.S. Case No. 423/25 registered for the offence(s)
punishable under Sections 8,21C,22C,25 of the NDPS Act.
3. As per the allegation made in the FIR, some
narcotic substance was recovered from the shop of the
petitioner.
4. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner submitted that petitioner is innocent and recovery of
narcotic substance was not made from the conscious possession
of the petitioner, rather the same has been recovered from the
shop of the petitioner, which is easily accessible to common
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6521 of 2026(4) dt.05-05-2026
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people and as such, complicity of the petitioner in the alleged
offence is not made out.
5. Learned APP for the State vehemently opposed the
prayer for grant of pre-arrest bail and submitted that the
anticipatory bail application is not maintainable.
6. Considering the nature and gravity of the
allegations under the NDPS Act, I am not inclined to grant
anticipatory bail to the petitioner. Accordingly, the present
application stands dismissed.
(Purnendu Singh, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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