ITEM NO.8 COURT NO.11 SECTION II-A S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A
RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 9277/2022
(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 17-05-2022
in CRLM No. 47116/2021 passed by the High Court of Judicature at
Patna)
GURDEEP SINGH @ BABA GURDEEP SINGH @ GURJANT SINGH Petitioner(s)
VERSUS
THE STATE OF BIHAR Respondent(s)
(IA No. 138576/2022 – EXEMPTION FROM FILING C/C OF THE IMPUGNED JUDGMENT and IA No. 138577/2022 – EXEMPTION FROM FILING O.T.)
Date : 30-01-2023 These matters were called on for hearing today.
CORAM :
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE ANIRUDDHA BOSE
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SUDHANSHU DHULIA
For Petitioner(s) Mr. Bharat Bhushan, AOR
For Respondent(s) Mr. Rishi K. Awasthi, Adv.
Mr. Prashant Kumar, Adv.
Mr. Piyush Vatsa, Adv.
Mr. Santosh Kumar-I, AOR
UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
O R D E R
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and the State. Learned counsel for the petitioner seeks to make out a case that having regard to the provisions of Article 254 of the Constitution of India, a State enactment cannot bar grant of anticipatory bail for which provision is made under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. We enquired from the learned 1 counsel for the State as regards the nature of involvement of the petitioner in the offence concerned. The States stand is that the seizure in this case is of 8000 litres of spirit and the petitioner is alleged to be the owner of the said goods. We have addressed the case of the petitioner on merit independent of the provisions of Section 76(2) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 and in our opinion, this is not a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail. So far as constitutionality of the provisions of Section 76(2) of the said Act is concerned, we leave that question open.
The petitioner is granted two weeks time to surrender and if on surrender he is taken into custody, his bail plea, if made, shall be examined expeditiously. The Special Leave Petition is, accordingly, dismissed.
Pending application (s), if any, shall also stand disposed of.
(RADHA SHARMA) (VIDYA NEGI)
COURT MASTER (SH) ASSISTANT REGISTRAR
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