Patna High Court
Jyoti Kumar @ J.P. @ Jaiprakash KumarversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail is granted, subject to verification of the petitioner’s antecedents; if any antecedent is found, the bail will not be confirmed.
Summary
The petitioner, Jyoti Kumar, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case alleging possession of 56.5 litres of liquor recovered from his joint family house, invoking sections of the Bihar Narcotic Substances Act and the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act. He argued he has a clean antecedent, the liquor was not in his conscious possession, and the amended Excise Act no longer recognizes deemed possession. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on the condition that the petitioner furnish bail bonds and two sureties, and directed the trial court to verify his criminal antecedents. If any antecedent is found, the bail will not be confirmed; otherwise, the provisional bail will be confirmed. The order is made under Section 482(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted when the alleged contraband is recovered from a joint family property and the accused claims no personal possession.
- Whether the concept of deemed possession under the amended Excise Act applies to the petitioner.
- Whether the trial court must verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedents before confirming the provisional bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Narcotic Substances Act — s. 274, 275, 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2), 3(5), 61(2)
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- deemed possession
- liquor seizure
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 482 CrPC
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Bihar Narcotic Substances Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12239 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-1084 Year-2025 Thana- NAGAR District- Vaishali
======================================================
Jyoti Kumar @ J.P. @ Jaiprakash Kumar Son of Baidhnath Sah Resident of
village- Kanchanpur, Dhanushi, P.S.- Kartaha, District- Vaishali
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Mukesh Kumar Singh
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 15-04-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Sections 274, 275,
338, 336(3), 340(2), 318(4), 61(2) and 3(5) of the BNS and
Sections 30(a), 30(f), 33 and 36 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise
Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 56.5 litres of liquor from house of petitioner along
with empty liquor bottle. It is next submitted that petitioner was
not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered from
his conscious possession and the house in question is a joint
family property as such it cannot be alleged with certainty that it
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was petitioner, who had kept the liquor in the house or the liquor
kept in the house was within his 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 he came to be implicated based on secret information
which is the easiest way to implicate someone without holding a
proper investigation when petitioner admittedly is a person with
clean antecedent. It is next submitted that no prudent person
would use his own premises for committing an occurrence and
thus would create evidence against himself and hence would get
implicated.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
5. 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 Hajipur Town P.S. Case No.1084/2025, subject
to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the
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B.N.S.S.
6. 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
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)
amit/-
U T
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