Patna High Court
AJAY @ AJAY SAO @ GARAI SAO @ AJAY KUMARversusTHE STATE OF BIHAR
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to bond, sureties and verification of antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Ajay Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging that the liquor recovered from his joint family house was not in his conscious possession and that the concept of deemed possession had been abolished after the 2018 amendment. He highlighted his prior criminal antecedents, including a case involving 126.915 litres of liquor, and argued that the investigation was based on secret information without proper proof. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.10,000 with two sureties and compliance with Section 482(2) of the CrPC, directing verification of his antecedents. The order stipulated that if more than two antecedent cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed. The petitioner also agreed to deposit Rs.2,500 with the Advocates’ Association.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 given the petitioner’s alleged lack of conscious possession and joint family ownership of the premises.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- bail bond
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.85289 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-293 Year-2025 Thana- IMAMGANJ District- Gaya
======================================================
AJAY @ AJAY SAO @ GARAI SAO @ AJAY KUMAR S/O LATE
DWARIKA SAO RESIDENT OF VILLAGE- RANJIGANJ BHUITOLI,
HAT BAZAR, P.S.- IMAMGANJ, DISTRICT- GAYA.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
THE STATE OF BIHAR
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sunil Srivastava, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Prem Kumar Jha, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 31-01-2026 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 two cases out of which one case is
under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 126.915
litres of liquor from house 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 the house in
question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged
with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.85289 of 2025(3) dt.31-01-2026
2/3
the house or the liquor kept in the house was within his
knowledge and after amendment in the Excise Act in the year
2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender
has been done away with and he came to be implicated based on
secret information, which is the easiest way to implicate
someone 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.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) with two sureties of
the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Court of
Special Judge, Exclusive Excise Court No.2, Gayaji in
connection with Imamganj P.S. Case No.293 of 2025, subject to
the conditions laid 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.85289 of 2025(3) dt.31-01-2026
3/3
found that petitioner has antecedents 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 antecedents of only two 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.2500/- with Advocates’ Association,
Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
Checking your session…