Rakesh DubeyversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.18791 of 2026
                      Arising Out of PS. Case No.-44 Year-2026 Thana- BRAHMPUR District- Buxar
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                 Rakesh Dubey Son of Srikant Dubey @ Radha Dubey R/o Vill. - Dhamawal,
                 P.S. - Shahpur, Dist. - Bhojpur and present address - R/o Vill and P.S. -
                 Brahampur, Dist. - Shahpur.

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

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
                 ======================================================
                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :      Dr.Kamal Deo Sharma
                 For the Opposite Party/s :      Mr.Kumar Ranjit Ranjan
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   25-03-2026               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 11.250 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.18791 of 2026(2) dt.25-03-2026
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          with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in

          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 next submitted that if

          Chowkidar was aware about the involvement of the petitioner in

          the occurrence, then why he did not inform the police prior to

          institution of the instant FIR, which casts an aspersion on the

          case of the prosecution. 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
               Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.18791 of 2026(2) dt.25-03-2026
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                         satisfaction of the learned trial court where the case is

                         pending/successor court in connection with Brahmpur P.S. Case

                         No. 44 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

                         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 only, in that event the provisional

                         anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.



                                                   (Satyavrat Verma, J)
vikash/-

U          T