Patna High Court
Durgesh Yadav @ Durgesh KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bond, sureties and verification of his criminal antecedents.
Summary
The petitioners, Durgesh Yadav and Sikandar Yadav, filed anticipatory bail applications in a case registered under Sections 274, 275 and 3(5) of the B.N.S.S and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022. Durgesh Yadav withdrew his application, which the court allowed. Sikandar Yadav, who has nine prior criminal cases (six under the Excise Act) and is alleged to have been involved in the recovery of large quantities of liquor, argued that he was not caught in possession, was not the owner of the seized vehicles, and that the sole basis for his implication was a confessional statement of another person, which he claimed lacks evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail. The court, considering these submissions, granted Sikandar provisional anticipatory bail on the condition of furnishing a bail bond of Rs 45,000 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal antecedents; if more than nine cases are found, the bail will not be confirmed. The order is made under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C. and Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner given the nature of the offences under the Excise Act and B.N.S.S.
- Whether a confessional statement made in police custody can form the sole basis for anticipatory bail denial.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents (nine cases) affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 274, 275, 3(5), 482(2)
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 438(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise offences
- confessional statement
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
- Section 438 CrPC
- Section 482 BNS
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.8749 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-393 Year-2025 Thana- LADANIA District- Madhubani
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1. Durgesh Yadav @ Durgesh Kumar S/o Sunil Yadav R/o Village - Bishunpur,
P.S - Ladaniya (Ladania), District - Madhubani, State - Bihar
2. Sikandar Yadav @ Sikendra Yadav S/o Krishnadev Yadav R/o Village -
Bishunpur, P.S - Ladaniya (Ladania), District - Madhubani, State - Bihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jha, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Arun Kumar, A.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 16-03-2026 1. Learned counsel for the petitioners, at the outset,
seeks permission to withdraw the anticipatory bail application
with respect to petitioner no. 1, namely, Durgesh Yadav @
Durgesh Kumar who was arrested during pendency of the same.
2. Permission is accorded.
3. Accordingly, the anticipatory bail application with
respect to petitioner no. 1 is dismissed as withdrawn.
4. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner no. 2 and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
5. The petitioner no. 2 apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 274, 275
and 3(5) of the BNS as well as Section 30(a) of the Bihar
Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner no. 2 submits
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that petitioner no. 2 has antecedent of nine cases out of which
six cases are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery
of 216 litres of liquor from a motorcycle and 324 litres of liquor
from a Toyata.
7. Learned counsel for the petitioner no. 2 submits
that petitioner no. 2 was not arrested from the spot, as such,
nothing was recovered from his conscious possession. It is
further submitted that petitioner no. 2 is not the owner of any of
the seized vehicles and came to be implicated based on the
confessional statement of Jaiprakash Singh in police custody
which does not have any evidentiary value in the eye of law. It
is next submitted that after amendment in the Excise Act in the
year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed
offender has been done away with. It is next submitted that once
an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise the police
start implicating mechanically either at the instance of the
Chawkidar, local person, secret information or confessional
statement without holding a proper investigation of the case.
8. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner no. 2.
9. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner no. 2, let the petitioner no. 2, above-
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named, in the event of his arrest or surrender within a period of
six weeks from today, be released on provisional anticipatory
bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.45,000/- (Rupees Forty-five
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 Ladaniya P.S. Case
No. 393 of 2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under
Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
10. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial
Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner no. 2
and if it is found that petitioner no. 2 has antecedent of more
than nine cases, it would be presumed that petitioner no. 2 had
concealed his antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the
anticipatory bail application in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if it is found
on verification that petitioner no. 2 has antecedent of only nine
cases in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall
be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Kundan/-
U T
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