Allowed¶19

Suraj Kumar v. The State of Bihar

Patna HC21 Apr 2026CR. MISC./25586/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Anticipatory bail; provisional anticipatory bail; Section 30(a) Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022; Section 438(2) Cr.P.C.; Section 482(2) B.N.S.S.; deemed possession; presumed offender; conscious possession; joint family property; secret information; criminal antecedent verification; Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 138 of 2026; Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25586 of 2026; bail bond Rs.5,000; recovery of 8.46 litres liquor and Rs.1,66,600/-.

What did the court decide?

Provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5,000/- with two sureties of the like amount each, subject to conditions laid down under Section 438(2) Cr.P.C./482(2) B.N.S.S.; confirmation subject to Trial Court verification of criminal antecedents (not more than the two disclosed cases). ¶19

Suraj Kumar Vs The State of Bihar — Anticipatory Bail | Patna HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, who apprehends arrest in Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 138 of 2026 registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, should be granted anticipatory bail.

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Court's answer

Provisional anticipatory bail granted: in the event of arrest or surrender within six weeks, the petitioner to be released on bail bond of Rs.5,000/- with two sureties of the like amount each, to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where the case is pending, in connection with Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 138 of 2026, subject to conditions under Section 438(2) Cr.P.C./482(2) B.N.S.S.

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Ratio / Principle

Confirmation of the provisional anticipatory bail is made conditional on the Trial Court verifying the petitioner's criminal antecedents: if more than two antecedent cases are found, concealment before this Court will be presumed and the provisional bail shall not be confirmed; if verification shows only two cases, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

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Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail - Patna High Court (Satyavrat Verma, J.) grants provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner apprehending arrest in Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 138 of 2026, registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, on allegation of recovery of 8.46 litres of liquor and Rs.1,66,600/- from his assertedly joint-family house. Release ordered on bail bond of Rs.5,000/- with two sureties of the like amount each, subject to Section 438(2) Cr.P.C./482(2) B.N.S.S. conditions; confirmation made conditional on the Trial Court verifying that the petitioner's antecedents do not exceed the two disclosed Excise Act cases, failing which the provisional bail shall stand unconfirmed.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.25586 of 2026

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Arising Out of PS. Case No.-138 Year-2026 Thana- GARDANIBAG District- Patna

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======================================================

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Suraj Kumar S/o Sanjay Prasad R/o- Chitkohra Chabal Mandi, P.S.Gardanibagh, Distt- Patna

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ram Jiban Pd Singh, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Umanath Mishra, A.P.P. ======================================================

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER

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2 21-04-2026

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Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and

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learned A.P.P. for the State.

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The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of two cases under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 8.46 litres of liquor from the house of the petitioner along with Rs.1,66,600/-.

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Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from his conscious possession. It is further submitted that the house in question is a joint family property, as such, it cannot be alleged with certainty that it was the petitioner who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house

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Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25586 of 2026(2) dt.21-04-2026 2/3

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was within his knowledge and after amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next submitted that petitioner came to be implicated based on the secret information which is the easiest way to implicate someone. It is also submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise the police start implicating mechanically either at the instance of the Chawkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret information without holding a proper investigation of the case.

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Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner.

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Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, let the petitioner, above-named, in the event of his arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where the case is pending/Successor Court in connection with Gardanibagh P.S. Case No. 138 of 2026, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

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Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25586 of 2026(2) dt.21-04-2026 3/3

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However, it is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than two cases, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail application in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if it is found on verification that petitioner has antecedent of only two cases in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

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(Satyavrat Verma, J)

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Kundan/-

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U T

Suraj Kumar v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Suraj Kumar v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

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What the court decided

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