Patna High Court
Sujit Kumar @ FaramversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court held that anticipatory bail may be granted provisionally despite the petitioner’s antecedents, provided he furnishes a bail bond and sureties, with the trial court to confirm or cancel the bail after verifying his criminal record.
Summary
The petitioner, Sujit Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging recovery of liquor not from his possession. He has six prior criminal cases, four under the Excise Act, and contended that the investigation was mechanically initiated without proper inquiry. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.30,000 and two sureties, subject to Section 482(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Court directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s antecedents and confirm the bail if he has no more than six prior cases, otherwise to cancel it. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents preclude the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Whether the circumstances of alleged recovery (no possession) justify bail.
- Whether conditions under Section 482(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code can be imposed on anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offence
- Section 30(a)
- criminal antecedent
- Section 482
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.72318 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-488 Year-2025 Thana- GAYA MUFASIL District- Gaya
======================================================
Sujit Kumar @ Faram S/o Ashok Yadav Resident of Village - Murkatta,
Gandhar, P.S - Muffasil, District -Gaya.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sharda Nand Mishra, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Pronoti Singh, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 07-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and 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 six cases out of which four cases
are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 91.26
litres of liquor from Azad Bigha and 10 litres from a Scooty. 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 and is accessible to public at large and is
not the owner of the Scooty and he came to be implicated at the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.72318 of 2025(3) dt.07-01-2026
2/3
instance of local person but then it is 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. It is also
submitted that even 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.
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.30,000/- (Rupees Thirty Thousand) with two sureties
of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned
Additional Sessions Judge-cum-Exclusive Special Excise Judge,
Court No.-1, Gaya Jee in connection with Mufassil P.S. Case
No.488 of 2025, subject to the conditions laid down under
Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.72318 of 2025(3) dt.07-01-2026
3/3
7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedents of more than six 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 six cases, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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