Mahfooz AlamversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.18619 of 2026
                  Arising Out of PS. Case No.-802 Year-2024 Thana- KATIHAR NAGAR District- Katihar
                 ======================================================
                 Mahfooz Alam S/O Manjoor Ali R/O Jainagar, PS- Mansahi, Distt- Katihar

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

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :      Mr.Sanjeev Kumar Singh
                 For the Opposite Party/s :      Mr.Sanjay Kumar
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR SINHA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   08-04-2026         1.   Heard learned Counsel for the petitioner and learned

                            Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

                       2.   This application for grant of anticipatory bail arises out of

                            Katihar Town Police Station Case No. 802 of 2024, dated

                            31.10.2024, disclosing offence under Section 30(a) of the

                            Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.

                       3.   The prosecution case, as per the First Information Report,

                            is that the police, on secret information that two persons

                            are going to Hawai Adda field from Balu Ghat on a

                            motorcycle, carrying liquor on it, reached the Balu Ghat

                            bridge and saw two persons coming on a motorcycle

                            having a luggage and on seeing the police, they started

                            fleeing away, but the police apprehended one person,

                            while the other succeeded in fleeing away. The arrested
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.18619 of 2026(2) dt.08-04-2026
                                            2/3




                   person disclosed his name as Hari Lal Sahni and the name

                   of the person, who succeeded in fleeing away as Shivam

                   @ Shibu Poddar. On search of the luggage kept on the

                   motorcycle, the police recovered 110 litres of illicit

                   country-made liquor.

              4.   Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the

                   petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in

                   this case. He further submits that the petitioner is not

                   named in the First Information Report and his name

                   transpired, during investigation, as he was seen driving

                   the motorcycle, in question, on several occasions. He

                   further submits that the petitioner is not the registered

                   owner of the motorcycle, in question. The petitioner was

                   not named by the arrested co-accused person. The

                   petitioner is having no criminal antecedent.

              5.   Regards being had to the submission advanced on behalf

                   of the parties concerned and taking into consideration the

                   fact that the petitioner is not named in the First

                   Information Report, he is not the registered owner of the

                   motorcycle, he has been made accused in this case merely

                   on suspicion and the petitioner is not having any criminal

                   antecedent, I am inclined to grant the petitioner privilege
            Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.18619 of 2026(2) dt.08-04-2026
                                                        3/3




                               of anticipatory bail.

                          6.   This application is, accordingly, allowed.

                          7.   Let the petitioner, above named, in the event of his arrest

                               or surrender before the Court below within four weeks, be

                               released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/-

                               (ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each

                               to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special Excise

                               Court No. 2, Katihar, in connection with Katihar Town

                               Police Station Case No. 802 of 2024, subject to the

                               condition laid down under Section 482 (2) of the

                               Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.



                                                                           (Anil Kumar Sinha, J.)
Prabhakar Anand/-

U √     T   √