Sandip Bhandari @ Sandip Kumar Bhandari v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.6905 of 2025 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-168 Year-2024 Thana- HAYAGHAT District- Darbhanga ====================================================== Sandip Bhandari @ Sandip Kumar Bhandari Son of Suresh Bhandari Resident of Village- Hathauri Dih, P.S.- Hayaghat, Distt.- Darbhanga ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Kaushal Kumar For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Jitendra Kumar Singh ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR SINHA ORAL ORDER 21-03-2025

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

2. This application, for grant of anticipatory bail, arises out of Hayaghat Police Station Case No. 168 of 2024, dated 05.10.2024, disclosing offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016.

3. The prosecution case, as per the First Information Report, is that the police, on secret information that the petitioner and others have parked one car, containing illicit liquor, in front of the hut of one Nand lal Paswan, reached the place of occurrence and on seeing the police, some persons, taking advantage of the darkness, among whom the petitioner was identified by the chowkidar and villagers as the driver of the said vehicle. On search, the

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6905 of 2025(2) dt.21-03-2025 2/3 police recovered 139.2 litres of illicit liquor from the car in question.

4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this case on the disclosure of his name by the chowkidar and villagers. He further submits that the petitioner has got no concern with either the illicit liquor recovered or the car in question as he is not the owner/driver of the said car. He further submits that the petitioner has got no criminal antecedent.

5. Regards being had to the submission advanced on behalf of the parties concerned and taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner is neither the owner nor the driver of the seized car, he has got no criminal antecedent and his name transpired in this case on the basis of disclosure made by the chowkidar and the villagers, I am inclined to grant the petitioner privilege of anticipatory bail.

6. This application is, accordingly, allowed.

7. Let the petitioner, above named, in the event of his arrest or surrender before the Court below within four weeks, be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (ten thousand) with two sureties of the like

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.6905 of 2025(2) dt.21-03-2025 3/3 amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special Excise Court, Darbhanga, in connection with Hayaghat Police Station Case No. 168 of 2024, subject to the condition laid down under Section 482 (2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

(Anil Kumar Sinha, J.) Prabhakar Anand/- U √ T √