Patna High Court
Kavita DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court allowed the anticipatory bail, granting provisional bail subject to conditions and verification of antecedent.
Summary
Petitioner Kavita Devi, a widow residing in a joint family house, faced arrest in a case alleging possession of 40 litres of liquor at her home and 16 litres at another house, under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022. She contended that she had no conscious possession, the liquor was stored in joint family property, and that the concept of deemed possession had been abolished after the 2018 amendment, making the charge untenable. The State opposed her anticipatory bail application. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedent. The order stipulated that if any antecedent is discovered, the bail would be revoked; otherwise, it would be confirmed. The application was therefore allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted in a case of alleged possession of liquor under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
- Whether the concept of deemed possession applies post the 2018 amendment of the Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean antecedent and lack of conscious possession justify the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession of liquor
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12017 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-2 Year-2026 Thana- SHIVAJINAGAR District- Samastipur
======================================================
Kavita Devi Wife of Late Munshi Mukhiya @ Muneshi Mukhiya Resident of
village- Ghiwahi,Police Station- Shivajinagar, District-Samastipur.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Pramod Kumar Singh, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Md. Anzarul Haque Sahara, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 26-02-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case registered
for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar
Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 40 litres of liquor from house of the
petitioner and 16 litres of liquor from house of Runni Devi. It is
next submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as
such, nothing was recovered from her conscious possession and
the house in question is a joint family property, as such, it
cannot be alleged with certainty that it was petitioner who had
kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12017 of 2026(2) dt.26-02-2026
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within her knowledge and after amendment in the Excise Act in
the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and presumed
offender has been done away with and she came to be
implicated based on secret information which is the easiest way
to implicate someone without holding a proper investigation.
4. Learned A.P.P. opposes the anticipatory bail
application.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner, above-named, in the
event of her arrest or surrender before the learned Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on her furnishing bail-bond in the
sum of Rs.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special
Judge Excise-I, Samastipur in connection with Shivajinagar P.S.
Case No.2 of 2026, subject to the conditions laid down under
Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
6. The application stands allowed.
7. It is made clear that the learned trial Court after
accepting the provisional bail bond of the petitioner shall verify
the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of even one case, then it
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12017 of 2026(2) dt.26-02-2026
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would be presumed that petitioner for the purposes of obtaining
anticipatory bail had concealed her antecedent before this Court,
in that event, the present 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.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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