Patna High Court
Arun Singh @ HariomversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioners, subject to verification of their criminal antecedents.
Summary
The petitioners, Arun Singh and his son Abhishek Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for alleged possession of 21.75 litres of liquor and 54 litres of beer recovered from a cowshed on Arun Singh's premises. They argued they have clean antecedents, the liquor was not in their conscious possession, and the cowshed is a public area accessible to villagers, making it unlikely they would use it to commit an offence. They further contended that the liquor was concealed by an inimical family member and that the police relied on a confessional statement of Vikash, the petitioners' son, without proper investigation. The State opposed the anticipatory bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs. 500 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioners' criminal antecedents, with confirmation of bail contingent on a clean record.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioners under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the circumstances, including lack of conscious possession and reliance on a confessional statement, justify bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Excise Act
- Section 30
- Section 482
- clean antecedent
- confessional statement
- high court
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.90683 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-168 Year-2025 Thana- VAISHALI District- Vaishali
======================================================
1. Arun Singh @ Hariom S/o Haridat Patel Resident of - Madarna, P.S -
Vaishali, District - Vaishali
2. Abhishek Kumar S/o Arun Singh @ Hariom Resident of - Madarna, P.S -
Vaishali, District - Vaishali
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Hemant Kumar
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms.Asha Devi
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 08-01-2026 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 Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the
petitioners are person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 21.75 litres of liquor and 54 litres of beer from
cowshed of the petitioner no. 1.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the
petitioners were not arrested from the spot as such nothing was
recovered from their conscious possession and the cowshed is a
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.90683 of 2025(2) dt.08-01-2026
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place outside the house and thus is accessible to villagers at
large. It is next 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.
It is further submitted that someone inimical to family
concealed the liquor without the knowledge of the petitioners
and the police in a mechanical manner without holding a proper
investigation implicated them based on confessional statement
of Vikash in police custody, when petitioners admittedly are
person with clean antecedent. It is also submitted that Vikash is
son of petitioner no. 1 and brother of petitioner no. 2, as such it
does not appear probable that Vikash would have disclosed the
name of the petitioners.
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.
500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) each with two sureties of the like
amount each to the satisfaction of the learned trial court where
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.90683 of 2025(2) dt.08-01-2026
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the case is pending/successor court in connection with Vaishali
P.S. Case No. 168 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 petitioners have antecedent of even one
case 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 petitioners are person with clean antecedent in that
event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-
U T
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