Patna High Court
Suraj Kumar @ Suraj Rai @ Suraj Kumar RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions and verification of antecedents, with confirmation contingent on the number of prior cases.
Summary
The petitioner, Suraj Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Sections 30(a), (b) and (c) of the Bihar Excise Act, alleging recovery of liquor and fermented jaggery from a public area not in his possession. He argued that the FIR lacked a proper informant, that the alleged contraband was not seized from his conscious possession, and that police investigations in excise matters are often mechanical. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.15,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. It stipulated that if more than three prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed; if exactly three, the provisional order would be confirmed. The order was made under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Negotiable Securities Act — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- section 30
- Bihar Excise Act
- section 482
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.69838 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-172 Year-2025 Thana- Excise Thana Hajipur District- Vaishali
======================================================
Suraj Kumar @ Suraj Rai @ Suraj Kumar Rai S/o Vishun Ray R/o Village-
Sukumarpur Tola, P.S.- Rustampur, District- Vaishali, Bihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Ms.Sweety Sinha
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Renuka Ratnakar
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 07-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a)(b)(c)
of the Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner has antecedent of three cases under the Excise Act and
allegation is of recovery of 100 litres of liquor from diyara area
and 5600 kg fermented jawa-jaggery was destroyed.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even the alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belongs to the
petitioner and is accessible to public at large and he came to be
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.69838 of 2025(3) dt.07-01-2026
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implicated at the instance of local people, but then the name of
the person, who disclosed the name of the petitioner is not
disclosed in the FIR, which casts an aspersion on the case of the
prosecution. It is further 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.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. 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 trial court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.
15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned trial court
where the case is pending/successor court in connection with
Hajipur Excise P.S. Case No. 172 of 2025, subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial
Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.69838 of 2025(3) dt.07-01-2026
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in the event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more
than three cases then it would be presumed that petitioner, for
the purposes of seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his
antecedent before this Court, as such, the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but after
verification if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of three
cases in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall
be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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