Arvind Kumar @ Arvind Sah v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.23413 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1958 Year-2025 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Muzaffarpur ====================================================== Arvind Kumar @ Arvind Sah Son of Prahalad Sah @ Pahlad Sah R/O Vill.- Tengrari, P.S- Siwaipatti, Dist - Muzaffarpur ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The state of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Priyesh Kumar, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :
Ms. Gulnar Begum, A.P.P.
====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 09-04-2026
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) and 32(3) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 (Amendment Act, 2018-22).
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of ten cases out of which eight cases are under the Excise Act as would manifest from the supplementary affidavit.
4. Office is directed to trace the supplementary affidavit and place the same with the records of the case.
5. Allegation is of recovery of 2466.72 litres of liquor from a truck.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.23413 of 2026(2) dt.09-04-2026 2/3 petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from his conscious possession. It is further submitted that petitioner is not the owner of the seized truck and came to be implicated based on the confessional statement of apprehended accused in police custody which does not have any evidentiary value in the eye of law. It is next 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 start implicating mechanically either at the instance of the Chawkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret information without holding a proper investigation of the case.
7. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
8. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner, let the petitioner, above-named, in the event of his arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where the case
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.23413 of 2026(2) dt.09-04-2026 3/3 is pending/Successor Court in connection with Excise P.S. Case No. 1958 of 2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C./482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
9. However, it is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than ten cases, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent before this Court at para 3 of the anticipatory bail application in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if it is found on verification that petitioner has antecedent of only ten cases in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith. (Satyavrat Verma, J) Kundan/- U T