Bail granted under Section 49(A) MP Excise Act subject to automatic cancellation upon positive FSL report.

On February 19, 2026, the applicant, Jitendra, was intercepted by police at Nazar Ali Mill Premises, Ujjain, based on secret information regarding the sale of spurious liquor.

Upon search, a plastic cane containing five bulk litres of suspected country-made raw liquor was recovered from his possession.

The applicant, a 25-year-old labourer, failed to produce a valid permit or license and was subsequently taken into judicial custody.

He moved this first bail application asserting that he was falsely implicated on suspicion, the liquor was not in his "active and conscious" possession, and that as a labourer with no criminal antecedents, he posed no risk of tampering with evidence.

1. Whether the applicant is entitled to regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in light of the nature of the offence under the M.P. Excise Act and his personal circumstances.

The Court primarily exercised its discretionary power to grant bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The substantive charge involves Section 49(A) of the M.P. Excise Act, which pertains to the penalty for possession or sale of liquor unfit for human consumption.

The court relied on established bail jurisprudence holding that the veracity of prosecution and complicity of the accused are matters for trial.

The necessity of continued incarceration must be weighed against the likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice, recidivism, or tampering with evidence, particularly considering the socio-economic status of the applicant.

The court evaluated the rival contentions, noting that while the State opposed bail due to the gravity of the offence, the investigation was largely complete and the offence is triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class.

The court observed that the applicant has no prior criminal record and his status as a labourer with family dependencies reduced the likelihood of him being a flight risk or influencing witnesses.

It was reasoned that the complicity of the applicant remains a matter of evidence to be determined at trial.

The court balanced the state’s concern regarding "spurious liquor" by incorporating a specific safeguard: a self-canceling condition in the bail order should the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report confirm the presence of poisonous substances.

The holding is contingent upon the applicant furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 25,000 with one surety of the same amount.

Specific conditions were imposed, including mandatory presence at hearings and a prohibition on committing similar offences.

The court ordered that if the FSL report reveals any poisonous substance in the seized liquor, the bail shall stand cancelled automatically without further reference to the Court.