IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.50740 of 2025 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-125 Year-2022 Thana- SARSI District- Purnia ====================================================== Deo Narayan Sah Son of Late Govind Sah, Resident of Rasargh Kadampur, P.S.- Banmankhi, District - Purnea ... ... Petitioner/s Versus The State of Bihar ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Md Fazle Karim, Adv. For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Parmeshwar Mehta, APP ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HARISH KUMAR ORAL ORDER 2 12-08-2025 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP for the State. 2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in connection with Sarsi P.S. Case No.125 of 2022 registered for the offences punishable under Sections 409, 420/34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act. 3. Allegedly, on the fateful day on 10.06.2022, one Ganesh Kumar, who happens to be Food Supply Officer, received a call from Sarsi Police Station that a trailer carrying food items has overturned near petrol pump. On getting such information, he rushed to the place of occurrence and found that the driver has fled away with the trailer’s engine after leaving the trailer. On the next day, in course of inspection, he found that there were 70 sacks of rice and 10 sacks of maize. When he Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.50740 of 2025(2) dt.12-08-2025 2/3 asked the people around, they did not tell anything nor did they claim food items. In the aforesaid premise, the present FIR came to be lodged that the Government food grains were transported for the purpose of black marketing. 4. Learned Advocate for the petitioner submitted that the name of the petitioner has been implicated in this case only on account of he being the owner of the trailer in question. It is submitted that, in fact, son of the petitioner, namely, Ajay Kumar Sah manages the vehicles and the petitioner is an old person and has nothing to do with the business. He further contended that the driver of the trailer, in question, namely, Magan Sharm facing identical allegation has been accorded the privilege of anticipatory bail by this Court in Cr. Misc. No.29315 of 2025 vide order dated 07.05.2025. The entire case is based on suspicion of black marketing; moreover, the rice is not a controlled item and after coming into force of EC (Amendment) Act, 2020, the rice and various other food items have been removed from the list of essential commodities and, as such, the provision under Section 7 of the Essential Commodities Act, would not be applicable in the case in hand. 5. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State vehemently opposed the pre-arrest bail application of the Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.50740 of 2025(2) dt.12-08-2025 3/3 petitioner. 6. Regard being had to the submissions made on behalf of the parties and taking note of the fact that the entire case is based on suspicion, coupled with the position of law that rice is not a controlled item after coming into force of EC (Amendment) Act, 2020 as also the case of the petitioner is based on parity and his fair antecedent, let the above named petitioner, be released on bail, in the event of his arrest or surrender before the learned Court below within a period of four weeks from today, on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 10,000/- (Ten thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned C.J.M., Purnea in connection with Sarsi P.S. Case No.125 of 2022, subject to the condition as laid down under Section 482(2) of the BNSS, with further condition that one of the bailors shall be the own/close family members of the petitioner. rohit/- (Harish Kumar, J) U T