Jwala Singh vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:68364
1 MCRC-40934-2026
IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH
AT JABALPUR

BEFORE
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE RATNESH CHANDRA SINGH BISEN
th
ON THE 7 OF SEPTEMBER, 2026
MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 40934 of 2026
JWALA SINGH
Versus
THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH
Appearance:
Shri Surdeep Khampariya - Advocate for the applicant.
Shri Amit Garg - Panel Lawyer for the respondent/State.
ORDER
This is the first application filed by the applicant under Section 482 of
B.N.S.S. for grant of anticipatory bail, who is apprehending his arrest in
connection with Crime No. 415/2026 registered at Police Station - Shahpura,
District Dindori (M.P.) for the offences punishable under Sections 34(2) of
M.P. Excise Act and 3(5) of BNS.
2. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that applicant is innocent
and has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is submitted that except
memorandum of co-accused, no other evidence is available against the
applicant to connect with the alleged offence. Nothing is to be recovered
from him and his custodial interrogation is not required. He further relied
upon the judgments passed by the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in
M.Cr.C. No. 376/2026 on 12.01.2026, M.Cr.C. No. 11611/2026 on
16.03.2026, M.Cr.C. No. 39725/2026 on 17.08.2026, and M.Cr.C. No.
14642/2025 on 03.04.2025.. Therefore, it has been prayed that the applicant
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ROSHNI SINGH
Signing time: 9/8/2026
3:30:44 PM

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:68364
2 MCRC-40934-2026
may be granted benefit of anticipatory bail.

3. On the other hand, learned counsel for State has opposed the prayer
for grant of anticipatory bail and prayed for it's rejection.
4. Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary.
5. At the stage of bail, the merits of the case are not required to be
examined. It is evident from the material placed on record before this Court
that 1,500 litres of illicit liquor, worth Rs. 16,03,040/-, was recovered from
the pick-up bearing registration No. MP-20-GB-4237, and it is also evident
from the record that the said liquor was related to the applicant. Apart from
the Section 59-A(i) of M.P. Excise Act prohibits for entertaining anticipatory
bail pertaining to offence under Section 34(2) of M.P. Excise Act. So far as
the orders, on which reliance has been placed, are concerned, in both the
cases, the Coordinate Benches, although extended the benefit of anticipatory
bail to the accused charged with Section 34(2) of M.P. Excise Act, but did
not discuss anything about the provisions of Section 59-A(i) of M.P. Excise
Act.
6. For ready reference, it is apt to quote the relevant provisions of
Section 59-A(i) of M.P. Excise Act, as under:-

"59A. Certain offence under the Act to be non-bailable
- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973 (No. 2 of 1974) or Section 59
of the Act,-
(i) no application for an anticipatory bail shall be
entertained by any court in respect of a person accused
of an offence punishable under Section 49-A or in
respect of a person not being a person holding a licence
under the Act or rules made thereunder who is accused
of an offence covered by clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ROSHNI SINGH
Signing time: 9/8/2026
3:30:44 PM

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:68364
3 MCRC-40934-2026
section (1) of Section 34 with quantity of liquor found
at the time or in the course of detection of such offence
exceeding fifty bulk litres.
(ii) xxx xxx "


7. A bare reading of the above-quoted crystalizes the embargo for
the courts to entertain anticipatory bail in underlying fact situation of the
instant case.
8. The bail is a discretionary domain and the power to grant
anticipatory bail is extraordinary in nature. The Supreme Court in Srikant
Upadhyay and others v. State of Bihar and another, (2024) 12 SCC 382 has
observed that "..Though in many cases it was held that bail is said to be a
rule, it cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be said that anticipatory bail is
the rule. It cannot be the rule and the question of its grant should be left to
the cautious and judicious discretion by the court depending on the facts and
circumstances of each case. While called upon to exercise the said power,
the court concerned has to be very cautious as the grant of interim protection
or protection to the accused in serious cases may lead to miscarriage of
justice and may hamper the investigation to a great extent as it may
sometimes lead to tampering or distraction of the evidence....".
9. Of-late, the Supreme Court in the case of Tusharbhai Rajnikantbhai
Shah v. Kamal Dayani (2025) 1 SCC 753 has observed that the power to
grant anticipatory bail should not be exercised in routine manner, but with
great degree of circumspection.
10. Considering the overall facts and circumstances, particularly the
provisions of Section 59-A(i) of M.P. Excise Act, it is not lawful to entertain
Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ROSHNI SINGH
Signing time: 9/8/2026
3:30:44 PM

NEUTRAL CITATION NO. 2026:MPHC-JBP:68364
4 MCRC-40934-2026
anticipatory bail application. Looking to the above discussion, this Court is

not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the applicant.
11. Accordingly, the application is dismissed.
(RATNESH CHANDRA SINGH BISEN)
JUDGE
R

Signature Not Verified
Signed by: ROSHNI SINGH
Signing time: 9/8/2026
3:30:44 PM