Patna High Court
Rakesh ChaudhariversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to a bail bond, sureties, and verification of his antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Rakesh Chaudhari, was implicated in a case under Sections 30(a) and 30(c) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 for alleged possession of 80 litres of liquor and 600 litres of Jawa Mahua jaggery solution recovered from a ruined house. He contended that he has a clean antecedent, the liquor was not in his conscious possession, and the recovery was orchestrated by an inimical party to frame his family. He applied for anticipatory bail, arguing that no reasonable investigation had been conducted and that a prudent person would not create evidence against himself. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent, linking the order to Section 482(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under the circumstances of the case.
- Whether the recovery of liquor from a ruined house justifies arrest and denial of bail.
- Whether the petitioner’s criminal antecedent, if any, affects the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 — s. 30(a), 30(c)
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
- High Court
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.87978 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-726 Year-2025 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Siwan
======================================================
Rakesh Chaudhari S/O Bichchhu Chaudhari R/O village - Hassainganj,
Siwan, P.S.- Hussainganj, District - Siwan
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ramadhar Shekhar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Raj Ballabh Singh, 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) and 30(c) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 80 litres of liquor from ruined house of the
petitioner along with 600 litres of Jawa Mahua jaggery solution,
which was destroyed. It is next submitted that petitioner was not
arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from his
conscious possession and the house from where the alleged
recovery of liquor is alleged is a ruined house where no one
stays and is accessible to villagers at large and it appears that
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87978 of 2025(3) dt.22-01-2026
2/3
someone inimical to the family concealed meagre amount of
liquor along with 600 litres of Jawa Mahua Jaggery solution
with an intent to implicate the entire family members and the
petitioner came to be implicated based on secret information,
which is the easiest way to implicate someone without holding a
proper investigation. It is also submitted that no prudent person
would use his own premises for committing an occurrence and
thus, would create evidence against himself and hence, would
get implicated.
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 Exclusive Special
Excise Court-II, Siwan in connection with Siwan Excise P.S.
Case No.726 of 2025, subject to the conditions laid down under
Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.87978 of 2025(3) dt.22-01-2026
3/3
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
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
Checking your session…