Allowed¶19

Pappu Kumar Mandal v. The State of Bihar

Patna HC9 Mar 2026CR. MISC./12357/2026

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Anticipatory bail; provisional anticipatory bail; clean antecedent verification; bail bond Rs.500 with two sureties; Section 30(a) Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act 2018; Section 482(2) B.N.S.S.; Katihar Excise P.S. Case No.373/2025; recovery of 60 litres of liquor from cow-shed; no conscious possession; confessional statement in police custody; Pappu Kumar Mandal v. State of Bihar; Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12357 of 2026; Justice Satyavrat Verma; 09-03-2026.

What did the court decide?

Provisional anticipatory bail: petitioner, if arrested or surrendering within six weeks, to be released on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.500/- with two sureties of the like amount each, subject to Section 482(2) B.N.S.S. conditions; confirmation by the trial court contingent on verification of clean criminal antecedents. ¶19

Pappu Kumar Mandal Vs The State of Bihar — Anticipatory Bail | Patna HC (2026)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

¶19

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, apprehending arrest in Katihar Excise P.S. Case No.373/2025 registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018, is entitled to anticipatory bail.

¶14

Court's answer

In the event of arrest or surrender within six weeks, the petitioner is to be released on provisional anticipatory bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs.500/- with two sureties of the like amount each, to the satisfaction of the learned trial court where the case is pending, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

¶19

Ratio / Principle

The learned trial court shall thereafter verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioner; if it is found that the petitioner has an antecedent of even one case, it would be presumed that he concealed his antecedents before this court and the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed.

¶20

Key takeaways

If on verification the petitioner is found to be a person with clean antecedents, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.ratio¶22

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail — granted provisionally. Patna High Court (Satyavrat Verma, J), Crl. Misc. No.12357 of 2026 arising out of Katihar Excise P.S. Case No.373/2025 (offence under S.30(a), Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018): petitioner apprehending arrest on allegation of recovery of 60 litres of liquor from a cow-shed in front of the house of Manish Choubey, adjacent to his own cow-shed, and implication via Manish's alleged confessional statement in police custody, directed to be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon arrest or surrender within six weeks, on bail bonds of Rs.500/- with two sureties of the like amount each, subject to conditions under S.482(2) B.N.S.S.; trial court to verify criminal antecedents — any antecedent case to be presumed concealed antecedent and the provisional order not confirmed, while verification of clean antecedents leads to confirmation forthwith.

¶1

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12357 of 2026

¶2

Arising Out of PS. Case No.-373 Year-2025 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Katihar

¶3

======================================================

¶4

Pappu Kumar Mandal S/o- Chhedi Mandal R/v-Tajganj, Ward no 45, PSMuffasil, Dist- Katihar

... ... Petitioner/s

Versus

The State of Bihar

... ... Opposite Party/s

¶9

====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Singh For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Vinod Shanker Modi ======================================================

¶10

CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA ORAL ORDER

¶11

2 09-03-2026

¶12

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned

¶13

A.P.P. for the State.

¶14

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.

¶15

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of recovery of 60 litres of liquor from a cow-shed in front of the house of Manish Choubey. It is next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and even alleged recovery is from a place which does not belong to the petitioner but then is adjacent to his cowshed and he came to be implicated based on confessional statement of Manish in police custody which does

¶16

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12357 of 2026(2) dt.09-03-2026 2/3

¶17

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 reiterated and submitted that petitioner is a person with clean antecedent.

¶18

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

¶19

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.500/- (Rupees five hundred) 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 Katihar Excise P.S. Case No.373/2025, subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.

¶20

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 even one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioner had concealed his antecedent before this court, as such, the

¶21

Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12357 of 2026(2) dt.09-03-2026 3/3

¶22

provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if on verification it is found that petitioner is a person with clean antecedent, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.

¶23

(Satyavrat Verma, J)

¶24

amit/-

¶25

U T

Pappu Kumar Mandal v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Pappu Kumar Mandal v. The State of Bihar

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

Mathura Prasad Vs The State of Bihar

Sandeep Kumar Vs The State of Bihar

Ramdhir Singh @ Ramdhar Singh @ Randhir Singh @ Ramdhir Vs The State of Bihar

Manoj Kumar Vs The State of Bihar

Satyanarayan Mukhiya @ Footballiya Vs The State of Bihar

Sujeet Kumar Vs The State of Bihar