Ranglal ManjhiversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13516 of 2026
                    Arising Out of PS. Case No.-7 Year-2025 Thana- ADAPUR District- East Champaran
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                 Ranglal Manjhi S/o- Late Aklu Manjhi R/v- Laxmipur Barwadih PS - Ada
                 Pur Dist- East Champaran
                                                                         ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                 Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                  ... ... Opposite Party/s
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                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :       Mr. Vijay Shankar Shrivastava, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :       Mr. Kumar Ranjit Ranjan, A.P.P.
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                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   10-03-2026                  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), 32

                   and 41(1) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment)

                   Act, 2022.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and

                   allegation is of recovery of 20 litres of liquor from the house of

                   three accused persons including the petitioner along with 200

                   litres of semi prepared liquor which was destroyed at the spot.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was

                   recovered from his conscious possession. It is further submitted

                   that the house in question is a joint family property, as such, it
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13516 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026
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          cannot be alleged with certainty that it was the petitioner who

          had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house

          was within his knowledge and after amendment in the Excise

          Act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and

          presumed offender has been done away with. It is next

          submitted that petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of

          the local people and Chawkidar but then it is submitted that if

          the Superintendent of Police of the concerned district supervise

          the cases properly it would manifest that the police in a

          mechanical manner investigate and implicate at the behest of the

          Chawkidar, local people, secret information or confessional

          statement without holding proper investigation of the case.

                       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 within a period of six weeks

          from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on

          furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand)

          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 Ada Pur P.S. Case No. 07 of 2025,
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13516 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026
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                     subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of

                     the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

                                  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 more than 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 has antecedent of only one case in that event the

                     provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.


                                                                          (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Kundan/-

U     T