Sitaram Manjhi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.28813 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-25 Year-2024 Thana- MAGADH UNIVERSITY District- Gaya ====================================================== Sitaram Manjhi son of Late Kailash Manjhi Vill- Khajwati Ps- Magadh University, Dist- Gaya ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

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

For the Petitioner/s :

Mr.Sudhir Kumar Sinha, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s :

Mr.Md. Iftekhar Mahmood, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 16-04-2024

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 Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 12 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 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

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28813 of 2024(2) dt.16-04-2024 2/3 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, but then it absolutely does not stand to reason that a local person was aware of the involvement of the petitioner in the occurrence then why he did not inform the police prior to institution of the instant FIR, which cast an aspersion on the case of the prosecution, when petitioner admittedly is a person with clean antecedent.

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 Hundred) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Exclusive Special Excise Court No.1, Gaya in connection with Magadh University P.S. Case No.25 of 2024, 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

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.28813 of 2024(2) dt.16-04-2024 3/3 accepting the bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, in that event, the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect.

(Satyavrat Verma, J) Prakash Narayan U T