Patna High Court
MANOJ SAHANI @ MANOJ KUMAR @ BIRODHI SAHANIversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bail bond, sureties, verification of antecedent and a deposit with the Lawyers’ Association.
Summary
Manoj Sahani applied for anticipatory bail after learning that he might be arrested in a case alleging recovery of 160 litres of liquor, offences punishable under Sections 30(a) and 41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022. He argued that he has a clean antecedent, that the alleged liquor was recovered from a public riverbank and not from his possession, and that the FIR lacks the name of the informant, casting doubt on the prosecution's case. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a bail bond of Rs.500, two sureties of the same amount, verification of the petitioner’s antecedent, and a further deposit of Rs.1,500 with the Patna High Court Lawyers’ Association. The order also stipulated that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed. The court thus allowed the petitioner to avoid arrest pending trial, subject to the stipulated conditions.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the petitioner under Sections 438(2) of the Cr.P.C. and 482(2) of the BNSS in a case under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the absence of possession and the petitioner’s clean antecedent justify the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Negotiable Instruments (BNSS) — s. 482(2)
- Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.) — s. 438(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- liquor seizure
- clean antecedent
- Section 438 Cr.P.C.
- Section 482 BNSS
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6090 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-282 Year-2025 Thana- Raghunathpur District- East Champaran
======================================================
MANOJ SAHANI @ MANOJ KUMAR @ BIRODHI SAHANI Son of
Mohan Sahani R/o Vill.- Sapahi, P.S.- Raghunathpur, District - East
Champaran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Suraj Kumar Tiwari, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Shyam Bihari Singh, A.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 03-02-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a) and
41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act,
2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 160 litres of liquor from a bush near the bank of a
river.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even the alleged
recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6090 of 2026(2) dt.03-02-2026
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and is accessible to villagers at large. It is further submitted that
petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the local
person and spy but then it is submitted that the easiest way to
implicate someone is based on secret information provided by
the spy without holding a proper investigation of the case. It is
next submitted that name of the local person who disclosed the
name of the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR which casts an
aspersion on the case of the prosecution, more so, when
petitioner admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, let the petitioner above-named, in the
event of his arrest or surrender before the learned trial court
within a period of six weeks from today, be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of
Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the like
amount each to the satisfaction of the learned trial court where
the case is pending/successor court in connection with
Raghunathpur P.S. Case No. 282 of 2025, subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the
Cr.P.C./482(2) of the BNSS.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6090 of 2026(2) dt.03-02-2026
3/3
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial
court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if
it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, it
would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent
before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail application in
that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed but if it is found on verification that petitioner is a
person with clean antecedent in that event the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
8. At this stage, learned counsel for the petitioner
based on instruction submits that petitioner undertakes to
deposit an amount of Rs.1,500/- with the Lawyers’ Association
of the Patna High Court within a period of two weeks from
today.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Kundan/-
U T
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