Hari Shankar @ Hari Shankar Kumar v. The State Of Bihar
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.83293 of 2023 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-616 Year-2023 Thana- BIHPUR District- Bhagalpur ====================================================== 1.
Hari Shankar @ Hari Shankar Kumar Son Of Maheshwari Sah @ Maheshwar Sah R/O Vill - Hario, P.S. - Bihpur, Distt. - Bhagalpur 2.
Sanket Kumar @ Sanket Sah Son Of Naresh Sah R/O Vill - Hario, P.S. - Bihpur, Distt. - Bhagalpur ... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s :
Mr.Praveen Kumar For the Opposite Party/s :
Mr.Chandra Sen Prasad Singh ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRA PRAKASH SINGH ORAL ORDER 19-01-2024 Learned counsel for the petitioners 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 petitioners and learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
3. The petitioners are apprehending their arrest in connection with Bihpur P.S. Case No. 616 of 2023 dated 04.10.2023 registered for the offence punishable u/s 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
4. As per the prosecution case, total 60.120 litres of Indian-made foreign liquor has been recovered from the Indigo Car.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83293 of 2023(2) dt.19-01-2024 2/3
5. Learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the petitioners have falsely been implicated in this case. The petitioners have no criminal antecedent as stated in para 3 of the bail petition. No incriminating article has been recovered from the conscious possession of the petitioners, hence no case is made out. The petitioners are neither the owner nor the driver of the said vehicle. As per the seizure list, the recovery is made in front of the house of the petitioner No. 1. 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 petitioners by submitting that the bar of Section 76(2) of the Act applies in this case.
7. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case as well as the nature of allegation against the
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.83293 of 2023(2) dt.19-01-2024 3/3 petitioners, let the above named petitioners, in the event of their 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) each with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Court concerned, Bhagalpur in connection with Bihpur P.S. Case No. 616 of 2023, subject to conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
8. This application stands allowed.
(Chandra Prakash Singh, J) atul/- U T