Shankar Mahto @ Shankar Kumar MahtoversusThe State of Bihar

                      IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
                              CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.39963 of 2026
                      Arising Out of PS. Case No.-86 Year-2026 Thana- SONBERSA District- Sitamarhi
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                 Shankar Mahto @ Shankar Kumar Mahto S/o Mahesh Mahto Resident of
                 Village - Bhutahi, P.S.- Bhutahi, District - Sitamarhi

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

                                                        ... ... Opposite Party/s
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                 Appearance :
                 For the Petitioner/s     :        Ms. Madhubala Verma, Advocate
                 For the Opposite Party/s :        Mr. Md. Shakir Ahmad, APP
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                 CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
                                       ORAL ORDER

2   23-06-2026                  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 read with Sections 111, 125(a), 125(b) and 281

                   of the BNS, 2023.

                                3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner has antecedent of four cases and allegation is of

                   recovery of 954 liters of liquor from a Scorpio vehicle.

                                4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that

                   petitioner was not apprehended from the spot as such nothing

                   was recovered from his conscious possession and is not the

                   owner of the seized vehicle he came to be implicated based on

                   confessional statement of Tapendra in police custody which
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.39963 of 2026(2) dt.23-06-2026
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          does not have any evidentiary value. It is also submitted that of

          late, police has started implicating accused with criminal

          antecedent in cases relating to Excise for obvious reasons

          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.

          20000/- (Rupees Twenty 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 Sonbarsa

          P.S. Case No. 86 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 four 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
            Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.39963 of 2026(2) dt.23-06-2026
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                      anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but after

                      verification if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of four

                      cases only, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order

                      shall be confirmed forthwith.



                                                              (Satyavrat Verma, J)
Rishabh/-

U      T