Patna High Court
Vikash Rai @ Vikash Kumar YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to conditions and verification of the petitioner’s antecedents.
Summary
Vikash Rai applied for anticipatory bail anticipating arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act for alleged recovery of 86.175 litres of liquor from a wheat field. The petitioner argued that the liquor was not found in his possession, the location did not belong to him, and the FIR omitted the informant's name, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. The State opposed the bail, contending the seriousness of the offence and the petitioner's prior two Excise cases. The Court, applying Section 438(2) of the CrPC, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a Rs.10,000 bail bond with two sureties and a six‑week surrender period. It further directed the trial court to verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents, stating that if more than two prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed. The application was therefore allowed, subject to the stipulated conditions.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted under Section 438 CrPC for an offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior two cases under the Excise Act preclude the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Whether the absence of recovered liquor in the petitioner’s possession and the omission of the informant’s name in the FIR justify anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2)
- Excise Act — s. 30(a)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 438 CrPC
- Excise Act
- bail conditions
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.84335 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-259 Year-2025 Thana- RAJEPUR District- East Champaran
======================================================
Vikash Rai @ Vikash Kumar Yadav Son of Kameshwar Rai @ Kameshwar
Ray Resident of Village - Saraiya, P.S. - Rajepur, Dist. - East Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Abhishek Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Tarun Prasad Mandal
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
4 19-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned APP for the State.
2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his
arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under
Section 30(a) of the Excise Act.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
the petitioner has antecedent of two cases under the Excise Act
and allegation is of recovery of 86.175 litres of liquor from a
bush situated in a wheat field.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits 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 villagers at large and he came to be
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.84335 of 2025(4) dt.19-01-2026
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implicated at the instance of local person, but the name of the
person, who disclosed the name of the petitioner is not disclosed
in the F.I.R., which casts an aspersion on the case of the
prosecution. It is next submitted that police in majority of cases
implicating innocent persons either at the behest of Chaukidar,
local person, secret information and confessional statement in a
mechanical manner without holding proper investigation.
5. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
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 Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the
sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten 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 Rajepur P. S. Case No.259 of 2025, subject to the
conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.
7. The application stands allowed.
8. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify
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the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of more than two 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 antecedent of two cases only, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-
U T
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