Patna High Court
Pappu Kumar MandalversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court held that provisional anticipatory bail may be granted subject to conditions and verification of the petitioner’s antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Pappu Kumar Mandal, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018 for allegedly possessing 60 litres of liquor recovered from a cowshed adjacent to his house. He was not arrested at the scene and no liquor was found in his possession; the allegation rested on a confessional statement made by another individual while in police custody. The petitioner, who has a clean criminal record, sought anticipatory bail, arguing that the amended Act no longer recognizes deemed possession or presumed offender concepts. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, considering the lack of direct evidence, the petitioner’s clean antecedent, and the statutory provisions, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a modest bond, sureties, and verification of antecedents, with the order to be confirmed if the petitioner remains clean.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted when the alleged offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018 is based solely on a confessional statement and no possession is proved.
- Whether the concept of deemed possession or presumed offender applies post the 2018 amendment of the Excise Act.
- Whether the petitioner’s clean criminal antecedent warrants the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- Section 30(a)
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act
- clean antecedent
- deemed possession
- confessional statement
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12357 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-373 Year-2025 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Katihar
======================================================
Pappu Kumar Mandal S/o- Chhedi Mandal R/v-Tajganj, Ward no 45, PS-
Muffasil, Dist- Katihar
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Singh
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Vinod Shanker Modi
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 09-03-2026 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 Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018.
3. 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12357 of 2026(2) dt.09-03-2026
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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.
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 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.
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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12357 of 2026(2) dt.09-03-2026
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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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