Patna High Court
Pitambar SahniversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to verification of criminal antecedents and compliance with bail conditions.
Summary
The petitioners, Shaligram Paswan and Nirdosh Paswan, applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered under Sections 30(a) and 30(c) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged recovery of liquor. They contended that the liquor was not in their conscious possession, the recovery site did not belong to them, and the complaint was filed by a chowkidar without prior police information, suggesting a mechanically driven investigation. The State opposed the bail, highlighting the petitioners’ criminal antecedents of six and five cases respectively. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs 30,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioners’ antecedents. The order further stipulated that if the antecedent count exceeds the disclosed numbers, the bail would be cancelled, otherwise the provisional bail would be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in an excise offence case under Sections 30(a) and 30(c) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioners’ prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Whether the alleged procedural lapses in the investigation justify bail.
Legislation cited
- BNSS — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- criminal antecedent
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30
- Section 482
- police investigation
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.88919 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-305 Year-2025 Thana- BHAGWANPUR District- Begusarai
======================================================
1. Shaligram Paswan S/O Paidal Paswan @ Sahdeo Paswan @ Satdev Paswan
R/O Village - Gara, P.S- Bhagwanpur, District - Begusarai
2. Nirdosh Paswan S/O Prakash Paswan @ Shiv Prakash Paswan R/O Village -
Gara, P.S- Bhagwanpur, District - Begusarai
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Abhishek Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Md. Shakir Ahmad
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 05-01-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a) and
(c) of the Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no. 1 has antecedent of six cases and petitioner No. 2
has antecedent of five cases and allegation is of recovery of 28
litres of liquor from Badiya chaur and 1000 litres Jawa Mahua
was destroyed.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the
petitioners were not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.88919 of 2025(2) dt.05-01-2026
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recovered from their conscious possession and even the alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belongs to the
petitioners and is accessible to villagers at large and they came
to be implicated at the instance of Chowkidar, but then it is
submitted that if the Chowkidar was aware about the
involvement of the petitioners 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. It is
further submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case
relating to excise, the police starts implicating mechanically
either at the instance of Chowkidar, local person, confessional
statement or secret information without holding a proper
investigation.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their 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.
30,000/- (Rupees Thirty Thousand) each with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned trial court
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.88919 of 2025(2) dt.05-01-2026
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where the case is pending/successor court in connection with
Bhagwanpur P.S. Case No. 305 of 2025 subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section Section 482(2) of the
BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioners and in the
event if it is found that petitioner no. 1 has antecedent of more
than six cases and petitioner No. 2 has antecedent of more than
five cases then it would be presumed that petitioners, for the
purposes of seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed their
antecedent before this Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory
bail order shall not be confirmed with respect to that petitioner
who had concealed his criminal antecedent before this Court, but
after verification if it is found that petitioner no. 1 has antecedent
of six cases and petitioner No. 2 has antecedent of five cases in
that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be
confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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