Pawan Kumar @ Pawan MahtoversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.25097 of 2026
                   Arising Out of PS. Case No.-574 Year-2025 Thana- GAUTAMBUDHNAGAR District-
                                                          Siwan
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                 Pawan Kumar @ Pawan Mahto S/o- Upendra Mahto Resident of Village -
                 Rauza Gaur, P.S. - G.B. Nagar, District - Siwan
                                                                        ... ... Petitioner/s
                                                    Versus
                 The State of Bihar
                                                                 ... ... Opposite Party/s
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                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :    Mr. Bijay Prakash Singh, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :    Mr. Rabindra Kumar, A.P.P.
                 ======================================================
                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   21-04-2026                  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 Section 30(a) of the

                   Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of eleven cases under the Excise Act

                   and allegation is of recovery of 200 litres of liquor from a place

                   near the canal at village Gaur Raja.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

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

                   recovered from his conscious possession and even the alleged

                   recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner

                   and is accessible to villagers at large. It is further submitted that
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25097 of 2026(2) dt.21-04-2026
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          petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of the 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 the secret information. It is next

          submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to

          excise the police start implicating mechanically either at the

          instance of the Chawkidar, local person, confessional statement

          or secret information without holding a proper investigation of

          the case. It is also submitted that petitioner in similar manner

          earlier also came to be implicated in cases relating to excise.

                       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 appearing on behalf of 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.55,000/-

          (Rupees Fifty-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 G.B.

          Nagar P.S. Case No. 574 of 2025, subject to the conditions as
           Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25097 of 2026(2) dt.21-04-2026
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                     laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the

                     B.N.S.S.

                                  7. However, 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

                     eleven cases, 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 eleven cases in that event the

                     provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.


                                                                          (Satyavrat Verma, J)

Kundan/-

U     T