Santosh MandalversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.37514 of 2026
                    Arising Out of PS. Case No.-82 Year-2026 Thana- MANIGACHI District- Darbhanga
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                 Santosh Mandal Son of Mishri Mandal Resident of village - Putai, P.S.-
                 Manigachhi, District - Darbhanga

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

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
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                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :      Mr.Kumar Praveen
                 For the Opposite Party/s :      Ms.Sharda Kumari
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                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   17-06-2026               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 379.980 litres of liquor from an

                   orchard.

                             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 even the alleged

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

                   and is accessible to villagers at large and                 he came to be
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          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

          satisfaction of the learned trial court where the case is

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

          No. 82 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