Patna High Court
Saral Rai @ Ranjit Kumar Ray @ Ranjit RayversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail was granted subject to a bail bond, sureties and verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Saral Rai, sought anticipatory bail in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, alleging that no liquor was recovered from his possession and that the alleged seizure occurred at a public riverbank. He argued that the police had mechanically implicated him without proper investigation, despite having three prior cases, two of which were also under the Excise Act. The State opposed the bail. The Patna High Court, after considering the submissions, directed the petitioner to be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.15,000 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal antecedents under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. The order further stipulated that if more than three antecedent cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed, whereas confirmation would follow if only three cases are verified. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents affect the grant of anticipatory bail.
- Whether conditions under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. can be imposed on anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- criminal antecedent
- Section 482
- high court
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.91003 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-860 Year-2025 Thana- SONEPUR District- Saran
======================================================
Saral Rai @ Ranjit Kumar Ray @ Ranjit Ray S/O Rambadan Rai @ Ram
Badan Rai Resident of Village- Baburbani, P.S.- Sonpur, District- Saran At
Chapra
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Dewendra Narayan Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Kumar Ranjit Ranjan, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 30-01-2026 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 has antecedents of three cases out of which two cases
are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 120
litres of liquor from a place near bank of Ganga river. It is next
submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such,
nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and even
alleged recovery is from a place which does not belong to the
petitioner and is accessible to villagers at large and he came to
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.91003 of 2025(2) dt.30-01-2026
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be implicated at the instance of Chowkidar but then it is
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.
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.15,000/- (Rupees Fifteen Thousand) with two sureties
of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive
Special Excise Judge-2nd, Saran at Chapra in connection with
Sonpur P.S. Case No.860 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 three cases,
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.91003 of 2025(2) dt.30-01-2026
3/3
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 has antecedents of only three cases, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner,
based on instruction, submits that petitioner undertakes to
deposit an amount of Rs.2500/- with Advocates’ Association,
Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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