Patna High Court
Sanjay Singh @ Sanjay PrasadversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to bond and verification of antecedent.
Summary
Sanjay Singh, the owner/driver of a tempo, was implicated in a case involving the seizure of 355 litres of liquor from his vehicle, attracting charges under Section 273 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018. He applied for anticipatory bail, arguing that he had a clean antecedent, was not present at the spot of seizure, and was unaware that the person he had hired to operate the vehicle committed the offence. The State opposed the bail. The Patna 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. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, the provisional bail would be confirmed. The application for anticipatory bail was therefore allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the owner of a vehicle from which liquor was seized, given the allegations under IPC Sec. 273 and Bihar Prohibition Act Sec. 30(a).
- Whether ownership of the vehicle alone suffices to establish culpability for the offence.
- Whether the petitioner’s alleged clean antecedent affects the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
- Indian Penal Code — s. 273
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- liquor seizure
- vehicle ownership
- IPC 273
- Bihar Prohibition Act
- criminal antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.90513 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-221 Year-2020 Thana- JAKKANPUR District- Patna
======================================================
Sanjay Singh @ Sanjay Prasad S/O Shyam Sunder Singh R/O Village-
Marchi, P.S- Bye Pass, Distt.- Patna. The Owner/Driver of Tempo No. BR-
01PA-6646.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Raj Kumar Choudhary, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ajay Kumar No. 2, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 08-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered
for the offences punishable under Sections 273 of the Indian
Penal Code and Section 30(a) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise
(Amendment) Act, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 355 litres of liquor from an auto. It is next submitted
that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing
was recovered from his conscious possession and he came to be
implicated based on the fact that he is owner of the seized
vehicle. It is next submitted that no prudent person would use
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.90513 of 2025(2) dt.08-01-2026
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his own vehicle for committing an occurrence and thus, would
create evidence against himself and hence, would get
implicated. It is also submitted that petitioner was completely
unaware that the person to whom he had given his auto for
earning based on commission basis would commit such an
occurrence.
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 Exclusive
Special Judge Excise-02, Patna in connection with Jakkanpur
P.S. Case No.221 of 2020, 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
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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
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