Patna High Court
Gudan Rai @ Abhishek RaiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court held that a person with a clean antecedent and no conscious possession of the seized liquor may be granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of antecedents under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Summary
Gudan Rai, a resident of Gopalganj, applied for anticipatory bail after an FIR was lodged under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022, alleging that 81.9 litres of liquor were recovered from a Mahindra vehicle. The petitioner claimed he had no prior criminal record, was not the owner of the vehicle, and that the liquor was not found in his conscious possession, asserting that the complaint originated from a chowkidar. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering the petitioner's clean antecedent and lack of direct involvement, directed that he be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of his antecedents under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The court ordered that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under the circumstances of the case
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of conscious possession justify granting provisional anticipatory bail
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
- criminal procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.87545 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-243 Year-2025 Thana- KUCHAIKOTE District- Gopalganj
======================================================
Gudan Rai @ Abhishek Rai Son of Vinod Rai Resident of Village- Balthari,
P.S.- Kuchaiote, District- Gopalganj, Bihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shashi Ranjan Kumar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Pushpa Sinha, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 22-01-2026 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 Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 81.900 litres of liquor from a Mahindra vehicle. It is
next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as
such, nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and
is not the owner of the seized vehicle and he came to be
implicated at the instance of Chowkidar but then it is submitted
that if Chowkidar was aware of the involvement of the
petitioner in the occurrence then why he did not inform the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87545 of 2025(3) dt.22-01-2026
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police prior to institution of the instant FIR, which casts an
aspersion on the case of the prosecution, when petitioner
admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.
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.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of learned District &
Additional Sessions Judge-IV-cum-Exclusive Special Excise
Court-II, Gopalganj in connection with Kuchaikote P.S. Case
No.243 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
found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, then it
would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87545 of 2025(3) dt.22-01-2026
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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 is a person with clean antecedent, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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