Sanjay ChoudharyversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13627 of 2026
                        Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1 Year-2026 Thana- HALSI District- Lakhisarai
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                 Sanjay Choudhary S/O Janki Chaudhary Resident of Village- Mohaddi Nagar,
                 P.S.- Halsi, District- Lakhisarai

                                                                                     ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                         Versus
                 The State of Bihar

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :        Mr.Sanjeev Kumar
                 For the Opposite Party/s :        Mr.Bishweshwar Ram
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   12-03-2026               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 Section 30(a) of the

                   Bihar Excise Act.

                             3.    Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the

                   petitioner has antecedent of two cases under the Excise Act and

                   allegation is of recovery of 6.75 litres of liquor from the house

                   of the petitioner.

                             4.    Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the

                   petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was

                   recovered from his conscious possession and the house in

                   question is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged

                   with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in
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          the house or the liquor kept in the house was within knowledge

          of the petitioner. It is next submitted that after amendment in

          the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed

          possession and presumed offender has been done away with and

          he came to be implicated at the instance of Chowkidar with

          whom he is on an inimical term. It is further submitted that once

          an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise, the police

          starts implicating mechanically either at the instance of

          Chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret

          information without holding a proper investigation.

                   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, 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. 10,000/- (Rupees

          Ten 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 Halsi P.S. Case No. 1

          of 2026, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section

          482(2) of the BNSS.

                   7.     It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
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                        shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the

                        event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than two

                        cases then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of

                        seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his antecedent before this

                        Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be

                        confirmed, but after verification if it is found that petitioner has

                        antecedent of two cases in that event the provisional anticipatory

                        bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.



                                                  (Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sumit/-

U         T