Chhotelal Manjhi v. The State Of Bihar

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA

CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.71776 of 2023 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-176 Year-2023 Thana- BHELDI District- Saran ====================================================== Chhotelal Manjhi Son Of Jagdish Manjhi Resident Of Village- Repura, P.S.- Bheldi, District- Saran At Chapra (BIHAR) ... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar.

... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :

For the Petitioner/s :

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

Mr. Pronoti Singh, A.P.P.

====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRA PRAKASH SINGH ORAL ORDER 23-11-2023 Learned counsel for the petitioner is permitted to remove the defect(s), as pointed out by the office, if any, within a period of three weeks from today.

2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.

3. The petitioner is apprehending his arrest in connection with Bheldi P.S Case No. 176 of 2023 dated 16.06.2023 for the offences punishable u/s 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.

4. As per the prosecution case, total 45 litres of illicit country made liquor kept in three plastic gallons each containing 15 litres was recovered from the bank of Repura river.

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.71776 of 2023(2) dt.23-11-2023 2/3

5. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner has falsely been implicated in this case. It is further submitted that petitioner has not apprehended from the place of occurrence rather his name has been trasnspired on the basis of disclosure statement of the co-accused Birendra Manjhi, who is apprehended at the spot by the police. The petitioner has two criminal antecedents as stated at para 3 of the bail petition. No incriminating article has been recovered from the conscious possession of the petitioner, hence no case is made out. 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 reported in 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.

6. 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.

7. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.71776 of 2023(2) dt.23-11-2023 3/3 of the case as well as the nature of allegation against the petitioner, 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, Saran at Chapra in connection with Bheldi P.S. Case No. 176 of 2023, subject to conditions as laid down under section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

(Chandra Prakash Singh, J) Nilmani/- U T