Patna High Court
Pappu ManjhiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court ordered provisional anticipatory bail for the petitioner, subject to bond, sureties and verification of his antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Pappu Manjhi, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Sections 30(a), 30(c), 32(iii) and 36 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, alleging recovery of liquor from several houses including his own. He argued that he has a clean antecedent, that the liquor was located in a joint family property, that no arrest was made at the spot and no liquor was found in his conscious possession, and that the 2018 amendment to the Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The Court, after considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond, two sureties and verification of the petitioner’s antecedents by the trial court, noting that any undisclosed prior case would vitiate the bail. The order is conditional on Section 482(2) of the B.N.S. and will be confirmed only if the petitioner is found to have no prior criminal record.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail in the pending case under the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 — s. 30(a), 30(c), 32(iii), 36
- B.N.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Criminal Procedure
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.19427 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-238 Year-2022 Thana- PHULWARISHARIF District- Patna
======================================================
Pappu Manjhi Son of Siya Saran Manjhi Resident of Village - Gobindpur
Laxman Tola @ Govindpur Lakshman Tola, Police Station - Phulwarisharif,
District - Patna.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Ravi Shanker Pankaj
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Ramchandra Sahni
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 26-03-2026 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 offence punishable under Sections 30(a),
30(c), 32(iii) and 36 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 40 litres of liquor from house of Shailesh, 30 litres
of liquor from house of petitioner and 21 litres of liquor from
house of Krishna Manjhi. It is next submitted that 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.19427 of 2026(2) dt.26-03-2026
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that it was 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 and he came to be implicated at the instance of local person
but then the name of the person who disclosed the name of the
petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR which casts an aspersion
on the case of the prosecution, when petitioner has not been
implicated based on secret information and is a person with
clean antecedent.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, 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.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 Phulwarisharif P.S. Case No.238/2022, subject
to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the
B.N.S.S.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.19427 of 2026(2) dt.26-03-2026
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6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter
shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the
event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one
case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had
concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification it is found that petitioner is a person with clean
antecedent, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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