Keshav Patel @ Sonu Kumar @ Keshav Kumar v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13243 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-64 Year-2020 Thana- MUZAFFARPUR SADAR DistrictMuzaffarpur ====================================================== Keshav Patel @ Sonu Kumar @ Keshav Kumar S/O Sakaldeo Rai @ Shakal Dev Ray R/O Village and P.O- Manganpur, P.S- Bhagwanpur, Distt.- Vaishali. ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr. Ganesh Prasad Singh, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr. Rana Randhir Singh, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 10-03-2026

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 272 and 273 of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 4698 liters of liquor from two trucks.

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 any of the seized trucks and came to be implicated

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13243 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026 2/3 based on confessional statement of Ranjit in police custody which does not have any evidentiary value. It is also submitted that after amendment in the excise act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. 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. 5,000/- (Rupees Five 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 Muzaffarpur Sadar P.S. Case No. 64 of 2020 subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482 (2) of the BNSS.

7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13243 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026 3/3 Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case 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 one case only, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) Rishabh/- U T