Ravi Ranjan Manjhi @ Ravi Ranjan Kumar v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.24744 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-217 Year-2026 Thana- MADHAURAH District- Saran ====================================================== Ravi Ranjan Manjhi @ Ravi Ranjan Kumar S/o Sita Ram Manjhi R/o vill - Dhenuki, P.S.- Marhowrah, Distt.- Saran ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr.Alok Kumar Alok For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr.Shahabuddin Azeem @ S. Azeem ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 20-04-2026
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and 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 338, 336(3) and 304(2) of the B.N.S. and Sections 30(a), 41(c), 33 and 34 of the Excise Act.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has antecedent of eight cases out of which seven cases are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 800 litres of spirit from a Scorpio.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and is not the owner of the seized Scorpio and he came to be implicated based on
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24744 of 2026(2) dt.20-04-2026 2/3 confessional statement of Surendra in police custody, which does not have any evidentiary value. It is next submitted that after Amendment in the Excise Act, 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next submitted that police in majority of cases implicating innocent persons either at the behest of Chaukidar, local person, secret information and confessional statement in a mechanical manner without holding a proper investigation. It is also submitted that petitioner in similar manner earlier also came to be implicated in cases relating to excise
5. Learned A.P.P. 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 provisional anticipatory bail on his furnishing bail-bonds in the sum of Rs.40,000/- (Rupees Forty Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where the case is pending/successor Court in connection with Marhowrah P. S. Case No.217 of 2026, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Cr.P.C.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.24744 of 2026(2) dt.20-04-2026 3/3
7. The application stands allowed.
8. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after accepting the provisional 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 more than eight cases, then it would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining anticipatory bail had concealed his antecedent before this Court, in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but if on verification, it is found that petitioner has antecedent of eight cases only, in that event, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J) vikash/- U T