Sandeep Manjhi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24214 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-120 Year-2025 Thana- PANCHRUKHI District- Siwan ====================================================== Sandeep Manjhi S/O Pradeep Manjhi Resident of vill-Sadikpur PS- Pachrukhi Dist- Siwan ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Ms.Kumari Anupam For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Mritunjay Kumar Nirala ====================================================== 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 Pachrukhi Police Station Case No. 120 of 2025, dated 18.03.2025, 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 has kept illicit liquor in a plastic sack near west of the crematorium in a wheat field and is selling the same, reached the place of occurrence and on seeing the police, one person fled away after throwing the sack. The local persons disclosed the name of the person who fled away as the petitioner. On search of the sack, the police

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24214 of 2026(2) dt.22-04-2026 2/3 recovered 9.8 litres of illicit country-made liquor.

4. Learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this case. He further submits that the name of the petitioner transpired in this case on the basis of disclosure of his name by the local persons. He further submits that the petitioner has no criminal antecedent and the recovery has been made from an open space.

5. Regards being had to the submission advanced on behalf of the parties concerned and taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner has been made accused in this case at the behest of the local persons, the recovery of illicit country-made liquor has been made from a wheat field, which is an open space and the petitioner has got no criminal antecedent, 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

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24214 of 2026(2) dt.22-04-2026 3/3 Court No. I, Siwan, in connection with Pachrukhi Police Station Case No. 120 of 2025, 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 √