Ravi Kumar @ Ravi Kumar Keshri v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.27711 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1897 Year-2023 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Patna ====================================================== Ravi Kumar @ Ravi Kumar Keshri S/o- Om Prasad Keshri Alias Om Prakash Keshri Resident of Gulzarbagh Mirchaiya Tola Bhrahm Asthan ke Pichhe PSAlamganj District- Patna ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Arvind Kumar Pradhan, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Binod Kumar, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 15-04-2024

1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned APP for the State.

2. The petitioner seeks bail in anticipation of his arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a)/56(b) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2016 and 2022.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 56.400 liters of liquor from the house of the petitioner.

4. It is next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and after amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018 the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27711 of 2024(2) dt.15-04-2024 2/3 has been done away with it. It is also submitted that the house in question is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within the knowledge of the petitioner and he came to be implicated based on confessional statement of co-accused Anand Kumar in police custody which does not have any evidentiary value.

5. The learned APP for the State opposes the anticipatory bail application.

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 Court below within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Special Judge Excise, IIIrd, Patna in connection with Excise Patna P.S. Case No.1897 of 2023, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.

7. The application stands allowed.

8. It is made clear that the learned trial court before accepting the bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify the

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27711 of 2024(2) dt.15-04-2024 3/3 criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case, in that event, the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) Prakash Narayan U T