Patna High Court
Shailesh ManjhiversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail application, granting provisional bail subject to bond, sureties, and verification of antecedents.
Summary
Shailesh Manjhi applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, alleging recovery of 18 litres of liquor and 7 kg of Mahua flower. The petitioner argued that he was not arrested on the spot, no contraband was found in his possession, the hut involved did not belong to him, and his name was absent from the FIR, suggesting a weak prosecution case. The State opposed the bail, citing the petitioner’s antecedent record of seven prior excise cases. The High Court, considering these submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.35,000 with two sureties and directed verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedents. The order stipulated that if more than seven prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 given the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedents.
- Whether the lack of direct possession and omission of the petitioner’s name from the FIR warrant granting bail.
- Whether the conditions imposed under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. are appropriate.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 — s. 30(a)
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- criminal antecedents
- provisional bail
- Section 482
- high court
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.90483 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-138 Year-2019 Thana- PHULWARISHARIF District- Patna
======================================================
Shailesh Manjhi Son of Late Mandeep Manjhi Resident of village Govindpur
Laxman 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, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Rajendra Prasad Nat, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 08-01-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered
for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar
Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedents of seven cases under the Excise Act
and allegation is of recovery of 18 litres of liquor from a hut
along with 7 Kg. Mahua flower. It is next submitted that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from his conscious possession and even the hut from
where the alleged recoveries were made does not belong to the
petitioner and he came to be implicated at the instance of local
person but the name of the person who disclosed the name of
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the petitioner is not disclosed in the FIR which casts an
aspersion on the case of the prosecution. It is also 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.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
5. 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 Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bond in the
sum of Rs.35,000/- (Rupees Thirty Five Thousand) with two
sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned
Special Jusdge, Excise Act, 1st, Patna in connection with
Phulwarisharif P.S. Case No.138 of 2019, subject to the
conditions laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
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found that petitioner has antecedents of more than seven cases,
then it would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of
obtaining anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before
this Court, in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail
order shall not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found
that petitioner has antecedents of only seven cases, in that event,
the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed
forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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