Santosh Sah @ Santosh Kumar @ Santosh Prasad v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.27192 of 2026 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-96 Year-2025 Thana- CHHAURADANO District- East Champaran ====================================================== Santosh Sah @ Santosh Kumar @ Santosh Prasad S/o Bhairo Sah @ Bhairo Prasad R/o Vill. - Hiramani, P.S. - Chhauradam, Dist. - East Champaran. ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Dhannjay Kumar Ii For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr. Khurshid Anwar ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER 23-04-2026
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 offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner has antecedent of five cases, out of which, four cases are under the Excise Act and allegation is of recovery of 60 litres of liquor from a motorcycle. It is next submitted 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 vehicle and he came to be implicated based on confessional statement of apprehended accused in police
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27192 of 2026(2) dt.23-04-2026 2/3 custody, which does not have any evidentiary value. It is also 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 starts implicating mechanically either through chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or secret information without holding a proper investigation. It is further submitted that petitioner earlier in similar manner came to be implicated in cases relating to excise.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the petitioner, 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.25,000/- (Rupees twenty five 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 Chhauradano P.S. Case No.96/2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.27192 of 2026(2) dt.23-04-2026 3/3
6. It is made clear that the learned trial court thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more than five cases, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if on verification it is found that petitioner has antecedent of five cases, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J) amit/- U T