IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.36200 of 2020

Arising Out of PS. Case No.-151 Year-2020 Thana-Darbhanga Sadar District-Darbhanga

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Ranjan Kumar @ Ranjan Kumar Yadav son of Dinesh Yadav, resident of

village- Ranipur, P.S.- Sadar, District- Darbhanga.

... ... Petitioner

Versus

The State Of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party

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Appearance :

For the Petitioner

:

Mr. Girish Chandra Jha, Advocate

For the Opposite Party :

Mr. Tarun Prasad Mandal, APP

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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ASHWANI KUMAR SINGH

ORAL ORDER

2

25-05-2021

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

counsel for the State via video conferencing.

2.

The

petitioner

has

filed

the

present

application for grant of pre-arrest bail in connection with G.O.

Case No.441 of 2020 arising out of Sadar P.S. Case No.151 of

2020 registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a)

of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 (for short „the Act

of 2016‟).

3.

The Act, 2016 has been promulgated for

enforcing, implementing and promoting complete prohibition of

liquor and intoxicants in the territory of the State of Bihar and

for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

4.

The legislation was enacted to provide a

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uniform law relating to prohibition of liquor and intoxicant, levy

of duties thereon and punishment for the violation of law in the

State of Bihar.

5.

Section 76 of the Act of 2016 provides that

all the offences under this Act shall be cognizable and non-

bailable and provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall

apply. Sub-clause 2 of Section 76 of Act 2016 bars the

application of Section 360 of Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973, Section 438 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and

Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.

6.

For the sake of convenience, Section 76 of

the Act of 2016 is extracted hereinbelow:-

“76. Offences to be Cognizable and

Non-Bailable. - (1) All offences under this Act

shall be Cognizable and Non-Bailable and

provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

(Act 2 of 1974) shall apply. (2) Notwithstanding

anything mentioned in subsection (1) above,

nothing in Section 360 of Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of 1974), Section 438 of

the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Act 2 of

1974) and Probation of Offenders Act 1958 (20

of 1958) shall apply in relation to any case

involving the arrest of any person on an

accusation of having committed an offence

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under this Act."

7. In Ram Vinay Yadav vs. The State of Bihar

[(2019) 2 PLJR 1089], one of the issues referred to the full

bench for consideration and adjudication was “whether the

provisions of Section 438 Cr.P.C. continue to apply in spite of

the bar created under Section 76 (2) of the Bihar Prohibition and

Excise Act, 2016 and as to whether such an application under

Section 438 Cr.P.C. for anticipatory bail is maintainable”?

8. The Full Bench after having considered the

matter held that if the ingredients of the offence under the Act of

2016 are made out, an application for grant of pre-arrest bail

would not be maintainable.

9.

Regard being had to the statutory provisions

prescribed under Section 76 of the Act of 2016, the ratio laid

down by the full bench of this Court in Ram Vinay Yadav

(supra), since the ingredients of the offence punishable under

Section 30(a) of the Act of 2016 are clearly attracted in the

present case as against the petitioner, the application preferred

under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for grant

of pre-arrest bail is not maintainable.

10.

Accordingly,

it

is

dismissed

as

not

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maintainable.

11.

In case the petitioner surrenders and seeks

bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,