SANJAY SAH @ SANJAY KUMAR v. The State of Bihar

====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : For the Opposite Party/s : ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA Mr.Anil Kumar Mr.Pradeep Narain Kumar ORAL ORDER 2 08-01-2025

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned A.P.P. for the State.

The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a), 41(1) and 37(c) of the Bihar Excise Act.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner has antecedent of two cases and allegation is of recovery of

6.5 litres of liquor for the house of the petitioner.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and after the amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away with. It is next submitted that the house in question is a joint family property as such it cannot be alleged with certainty that it was petitioner who had kept Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.88049 of 2024(2) dt.08-01-2025 the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was within knowledge of the petitioner. It is also submitted that once an accused is implicated in a case relating to excise, the police starts implicating mechanically.

Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for anticipatory bail of the petitioner.

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 trial court within a period of six weeks from today, be released on anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten 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 Chhatauni P.S. Case No. 413 of 2021, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438 (2) of the Cr.P.C.

It is made clear that the learned trial court before accepting the bail bonds of the petitioner shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner and in the event if it is found that the petitioner has antecedent of more than two cases, in that event, the present anticipatory bail order shall not be given effect to. SUMIT/- U T (Satyavrat Verma, J)