The Patna High Court has granted anticipatory bail to an accused in a Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act case, subject to the condition that he contributes Rs. 15,000 to the District Legal Services Authority, Khagaria for putting up flower pots in the Civil Court Campus of Khagaria Judgeship. The Court extended the relief after noting that the alleged recovery of 81.450 litres of foreign liquor was from an open field and not from the petitioner's conscious possession.

A Single Judge Bench of Justice Rajiv Roy was hearing an anticipatory bail application filed by the petitioner apprehending arrest in connection with Parbatta P.S. Case No. 259 of 2026 registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.

As per the prosecution case, on receiving secret information that the accused persons were indulging in the business of liquor, the police conducted a raid and recovered/seized 81.450 litres of foreign liquor from a field, leading to registration of the FIR.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that the recovery was admittedly made from an open field and that the petitioner had been implicated only due to one criminal antecedent. It was further submitted that without accepting the allegations or the outcome of the present case, the petitioner was willing to contribute Rs. 15,000 to the District Legal Services Authority, Khagaria for putting up flower pots in the Civil Court Campus of Khagaria Judgeship through a Demand Draft issued by the local branch of the State Bank of India.

Counsel for the petitioner also relied on the Full Bench judgment of the Patna High Court in Ram Vinay Yadav v. State of Bihar, wherein it was held that an application for anticipatory bail in a case arising under the Bihar Excise and Prohibition Act can be maintained despite the bar under Section 76(2) of the Act, if the allegations in the FIR do not make out an offence under the said provision.

Opposing the bail application, the learned APP submitted that the petitioner had a criminal antecedent.

The Court took into account the submissions of the parties, the judgment in Ram Vinay Yadav v. State of Bihar, and the fact that the recovery/seizure was from an open field and not from the petitioner's conscious possession.

Considering the circumstances, the Court was inclined to extend the privilege of anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to the condition that he deposit Rs. 15,000 with the District Legal Services Authority, Khagaria for putting up flower pots in the Civil Court Campus of Khagaria Judgeship through a Demand Draft issued by the local branch of the State Bank of India.

The Court directed that the receipt of expenditure shall be submitted by the DLSA, Khagaria to the trial court.

The Court directed that the petitioner be released on bail in the event of arrest or surrender within four weeks from receipt of the order, on furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 10,000 with two sureties of like amount each.

Case Title: Uttam Kumar v. State of Bihar

Case Number: Criminal Miscellaneous No. 63052 of 2026

Appearance:

For the Petitioner/s: Mr. Brajesh Verma, Advocate.

For the Opposite Party/s: Mr. Md. Iftekhar Mahmood, APP.

Click Here To Read/Download Order