Mantu Kumar @ Abhishek Raj @ Mantu v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.7052 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-23 Year-2017 Thana- BARACHATTI District- Gaya ====================================================== Mantu Kumar @ Abhishek Raj @ Mantu Son of Baiju Prasad Resident of village - Telhara, P.S.- Telhara, District - Nalanda. ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Priya Ranjan, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr. Sanjay Kumar Sharma, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 19-02-2026

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 Sections 30(a), 32(2), 38 and 47 of the Bihar Excise Act read with Sections 272, 273 and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of six cases under the excise act and allegation is of recovery of 76.5 liters of liquor from a car.

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 and came to be implicated based on confessional statement of Kallu in police custody which does

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.7052 of 2026(2) dt.19-02-2026 2/3 not have any evidentiary value. It is fairly submitted that the case is of the year 2017, but then petitioner was not named in the FIR and his name transpired during the course of investigation based on confessional statement, but it was only in 2025 that police knocked the door of the petitioner when he came to know about his implication in the instant case. 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.

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. 30,000/- (Rupees Thirty 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 Barachatti P.S. Case No. 23 of 2017 subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482 (2) of the BNSS.

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.7052 of 2026(2) dt.19-02-2026 3/3

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 six 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 six cases only, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) Rishabh/- U T