23.07.2026 Ct. No. 11 SL No.5 Cp CALCUTTA HIGH COURT IN THE CIRCUIT BENCH AT JALPAIGURI CRM (A) No. 496 of 2026 In Re: - An application for anticipatory bail under section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/Section 482 of the B.N.S.S. 2023, in connection with Naxalbari Excise Station, Darjeeling SI’s Seizure List No. 18/25-26 dated 26.09.2025, under Sections 46(b)/46(A)(c)/52/55/61 of the Bengal Excise Act. And In the matter of: Mukesh Kumar @ Mukesh Kumar Yadav ….Petitioner. Mr. Subham Ghosh Mr. Mayank Roy …for the Petitioner. Ms. Ruchika Agarwala Mr. Atul Dong … for the State. The petitioners pray for pre-arrest bail. The petitioner submits that the vehicle from which the 260 cartons of liquor were seized was not in his possession and control. He had authorized Rajiv Kumar Yadav to carry on his business of sale of vegetables. He refers to the complaint filed by the Sub-Inspector of Excise and the prayer for issuance of the warrant of arrest filed by the Officer-in-Charge, Naxalbari Excise Station before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate. From the said prayer it appears that the petitioner cooperated with the excise authorities and based on the statement of the petitioner, prayer for warrant of arrest was made only against Rajiv Kumar Yadav who was considered to be the prime accused by the Excise Department. 2 Learned advocate for the State submits that the name of the petitioner transpires from the statement of the erstwhile owner and the fact that the petitioner had purchased the vehicle is not in doubt. Considering the stand taken by the Excise Authority before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Siliguri and the contents of the FIR, this Court is inclined to allow the prayer for pre-arrest bail on stringent conditions. Accordingly, this court directs that, in the event of arrest, the petitioner shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.50,000/- with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the Arresting Officer and subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, corresponding to Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S. 2023. The petitioner shall meet the investigating officer once a week and cooperate till conclusion of the investigation and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever. The petitioner shall also not leave the jurisdiction of the Naxalbari police station. In case the petitioner fails to adhere to any of the conditions stated above, the learned jurisdictional court shall be entitled to cancel the bail without further reference to this court. The application for anticipatory bail, thus, disposed of. All parties shall act on the server copies of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court. (Shampa Sarkar, J.)