Umesh Chaudhary @ Umesh Kumar Chaudhary v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24231 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-66 Year-2026 Thana- JANTA BAZAR District- Saran ====================================================== Umesh Chaudhary @ Umesh Kumar Chaudhary S/o- Late Laddu Chaudhary Village- Shobhipur PS- Janta Bazar, Dist- Saran ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Roshan Kumar For the Opposite Party/s :

Ms.Sharda Kumari ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANIL KUMAR SINHA ORAL ORDER 22-04-2026

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 Janta Bazar Police Station Case No. 66 of 2026, dated 07.03.2026, 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, raided near a pond in village Najirganj Chawar and on seeing the police, four persons fled away. Upon search, the police recovered 25 litres of illicit country-made liquor and 2000 litres of fermented liquor, which was destroyed by the police. The police also recovered cylinder, stove, utensils etc. meant for manufacturing illicit liquor. The Mahal

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24231 of 2026(2) dt.22-04-2026 2/3 Chowkidar has disclosed the name of the petitioner and others as the persons who fled away from the spot.

4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this case on the basis of disclosure of his name by the Mahal Chowkidar. He further submits that the illicit liquor and other articles were recovered from near a pond, which is an open space and is accessible to all and sundry. He further submits that similarly situated co-accused persons, namely, Krishna Choudhary (vide order, dated 08.04.2026, passed in Criminal Misc. No. 23044 of 2026) and Pawan Choudhary (vide order, dated 07.04.2026, passed in Criminal Misc. No. 22195 of 2026) have been granted anticipatory bail by a co-ordinate Bench of this Court.

5. Regards being had to the submission advanced on behalf of the parties concerned and taking into consideration the fact that the name of the petitioner transpired in this case on the basis of disclosure of his name by the Mahal Chowkidar, the recovery is made from near a pond, which is an open space and similarly situated co-accused persons have been granted anticipatory bail by a co-

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24231 of 2026(2) dt.22-04-2026 3/3 ordinate Bench of this Court, 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 amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special Excise Court No. 3, Saran, at Chapra, in connection with Janta Bazar Police Station Case No. 66 of 2026, 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 √