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Patna High Court

Ram Sogarath DasversusThe State of Bihar

Decided
Disposal
DISPOSED

Holding

The court held that provisional anticipatory bail should be granted, subject to verification of the petitioner’s antecedents and compliance with the conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.

Summary

The petitioner, Ram Sogarath Das, sought anticipatory bail after the police registered a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act alleging that 11.625 litres of liquor were recovered from a spot adjacent to his house. He argued that he had no prior criminal record, that the liquor was not found in his possession, and that the informant (the chowkidar) did not inform police earlier, casting doubt on the prosecution’s case. The State opposed the bail, contending that the allegations warranted detention. Justice Satyavrat Verma granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to a bond of Rs. 500 with two sureties and conditioned on verification of the petitioner’s antecedents by the trial court. The order stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would be cancelled, but if the petitioner is found to have a clean record, the bail would be confirmed.

Issues considered

  • What is the applicability of anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the CrPC in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act?
  • Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of possession of the alleged liquor justify the grant of anticipatory bail?
  • Whether the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the BNSS are proper for a provisional anticipatory bail order?

Legislation cited

Subjects

  • anticipatory bail
  • Bihar Excise Act
  • Section 30(a)
  • clean antecedent
  • Section 482(2)
  • criminal procedure

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.87318 of 2025
                      Arising Out of PS. Case No.-73 Year-2025 Thana- Chhaudahi District- Begusarai
                 ======================================================
                 Ram Sogarath Das Son of Late Ram Lakhan Das R/o, Viliage - Rajopur, P.S.-
                 Chhaurahi, District - Begusarai.

                                                                                     ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                        Versus
                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :        Mr.Onkar Nath
                 For the Opposite Party/s :        Mr.Surendra Kumar
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   17-01-2026               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) of the

                   Bihar Excise Act.

                             3.    Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the

                   petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of

                   recovery of 11.625 litres of liquor from a place concealed under

                   husk in front of the house of the petitioner.

                             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 belong to the petitioner

                   but then is adjacent to his house and thus came to be implicated
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87318 of 2025(2) dt.17-01-2026
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          at the instance of Chowkidar but then it is submitted that if the

          Chowkidar was aware about the involvement of the petitioner in

          the occurrence, then why he did not inform the police prior to

          institution of the instant FIR, which casts an aspersion on the

          case of the prosecution.

                   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.

          500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) 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

          Chhaurahi P.S. Case No. 73 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 in the

          event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case

          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
              Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87318 of 2025(2) dt.17-01-2026
                                                          3/3




                        confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner is a

                        person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional

                        anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.



                                                  (Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-

U         T


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