Mani Bhushan @ Mani Bhushan Kumar v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.30368 of 2025 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1761 Year-2024 Thana- Excise P.S. District- East Champaran ====================================================== Mani Bhushan @ Mani Bhushan Kumar S/O Bihari Rai @ Bihari Ray Resident of Village- Bakhari Khajuri, P.S- Dhaka, District- East Champaran at Motihari.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr. Aditya Kumar Pandey, Adv.
For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr. Damodar Prasad Tiwary, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRA PRAKASH SINGH ORAL ORDER 11-07-2025 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
2. The petitioner is apprehending his arrest in a case in connection with Excise P.S. Case No. 1761 of 2024 dated 17.10.2024 registered for the offences punishable u/s 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. As per the prosecution case, total 189 litres of illicit Nepali country-made liquor was recovered from the sacks tied with motorcycle.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in this case. The petitioner is not named in the FIR. The name of the petitioner has sprung up in the confessional statement of the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30368 of 2025(2) dt.11-07-2025 2/3 co-accused, Dinesh Kumar. There is general and omnibus allegation against the petitioner. No incriminating material has been recovered from the conscious possession of the petitioner. The petitioner has no concern with the alleged recovery. The petitioner has no criminal antecedent as stated in para 3 of the bail petition. The co-accused person has already been granted regular bail by this Court vide order dated 05.03.2025 passed in Cr. Misc. No. 13305 of 2025. Learned counsel has submitted that no case is made out against the petitioner. Learned Counsel has relied on the judgment of Full Bench of Hon'ble Patna High Court in the case of Ram Vinay Yadav vs. State of Bihar 2019
(2) PLJR 1089. The Full Bench in the case of Ram Vinay Yadav (supra) has held that an application for anticipatory bail in a case arising out of Bihar Excise and Prohibition Act can be maintained, despite the bar under Section 76 (2) of the Act, if on the basis of allegation made in the FIR, no offence under the said provision is made out.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State has vehemently opposed the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner by submitting that the bar of Section 76(2) of the Act applies in this case.
6. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.30368 of 2025(2) dt.11-07-2025 3/3 of the case as well as the material available on record, let the above named petitioner, in the event of his arrest/surrender within a period of six weeks from today, be enlarged on anticipatory bail on furnishing bail-bond of Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees twenty thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of the learned Court concerned, East Champaran in connection with Excise P.S. Case No. 1761 of 2024, subject to conditions as laid down under section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
7. The application stands allowed.
(Chandra Prakash Singh, J) shivam/- U T