Patna High Court

Guddu Kamat @ Jay KamatversusThe State of Bihar

Decided: 22 January 2026
Disposal: DISPOSED
Bench: SATYAVRAT VERMA

Holding

Provisional anticipatory bail is granted, subject to bond, sureties and verification of antecedents.

Summary

Guddu Kamat applied for anticipatory bail after a case was registered against him under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging recovery of 1,842.12 litres of liquor from a truck. The petitioner argued that he was not in possession of the seized liquor, was not the owner of the truck, and was being implicated solely based on his eight prior excise cases. The State opposed the bail. The Patna High Court, considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.40,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. The court stipulated that if more than eight prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed; if exactly eight, the bail would be confirmed. The application was allowed.

Issues considered

Whether anticipatory bail can be granted to the petitioner under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.

Legislation cited

Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)

Subjects

anticipatory bail
excise law
Section 30(a)
criminal antecedents
provisional bail
Bihar

Judgment

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.89235 of 2025
                      Arising Out of PS. Case No.-419 Year-2025 Thana- BAHERA District- Darbhanga
                 ======================================================
                 Guddu Kamat @ Jay Kamat Son of Faguni Kamat Resident of Village-
                 Pandasarai, Ward No. 48, P.S.- Laheria Sarai, District- Darbhanga

                                                                                  ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                       Versus
                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr. Nawal Kishor Prasad, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Kanhaiya Kishore, 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 (Amendment) Act, 2022.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedents of eight cases under the Excise Act,

                   as would manifest from the supplementary affidavit and

                   allegation is of recovery of 1842.12 litres of liquor from a truck.

                   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 truck and he came

                   to be implicated based on his antecedents. It is next submitted

                   that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise,
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.89235 of 2025(3) dt.22-01-2026
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          the police starts implicating mechanically either at the instance

          of Chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret

          information without holding a proper investigation.

                       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.40,000/- (Rupees Forty Thousand) with two sureties

          of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive

          Special Judge-II, (Excise Act), Darbhanga in connection with

          Bahera P.S. Case No.419 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 antecedents of more than eight cases,

          then it would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of

          obtaining anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before
               Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.89235 of 2025(3) dt.22-01-2026
                                                           3/3




                         this Court, in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail

                         order shall not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found

                         that petitioner has antecedents of only eight cases, in that event,

                         the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed

                         forthwith.


                                                   (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Sanjay/-

U          T

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