Patna High Court
YURAJ KUMARversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties, and verification of antecedent.
Summary
Yuraj Kumar applied for anticipatory bail after the police registered a case against him under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for allegedly possessing 11.25 litres of liquor, a bag and a seized motorcycle. He contended that he had no conscious possession of the liquor or the vehicle, was not the owner, and was implicated solely on a confessional statement made by an accused in police custody, which he argued lacks evidentiary value. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition that the petitioner furnish a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties and comply with Section 482(2) of the CrPC, subject to verification of his criminal antecedent by the trial court. The court clarified that if any prior case is found, the bail will not be confirmed; otherwise, it will be confirmed immediately. The application was therefore allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether a confessional statement of an accused made in police custody has evidentiary value for the petitioner’s arrest.
- Whether the petitioner’s lack of conscious possession and ownership precludes liability.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- confessional statement
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 30
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
- liquor seizure
- motor vehicle seizure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.88771 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-483 Year-2024 Thana- MUFFASIL District- West Champaran
======================================================
YURAJ KUMAR S/O SEWAK SAH R/o Village- Sofawatola Dhumnagar,
Ward No. 04, Police Station- Nautan, District- West Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sarvesh Kashyap, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ashok Kumar Singh, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 09-01-2026 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.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 11.250 litres of liquor from a bag and a motorcycle
was also seized. 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
nor he has any connection with the bag in question from which
the alleged recovery is alleged to be made and he came to be
implicated based on confessional statement of apprehended
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.88771 of 2025(2) dt.09-01-2026
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accused in police custody which does not have any evidentiary
value.
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 the learned Special Judge
Excise Court-I, Bettiah, West Champaran in connection with
Bettiah Muffasil P.S. Case No.483 of 2024, 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 bonds 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
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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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