Patna High Court
Rita Devi @ Sunita DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to verification of her antecedent and compliance with the conditions under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
Summary
Rita Devi, a woman with a clean antecedent, was implicated in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act for the alleged recovery of 19.8 litres of liquor from her joint family house. She argued that she was not arrested, that the liquor was not in her conscious possession, and that the amendment to the Excise Act in 2018 had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. She claimed the accusation was fabricated by a hostile chowkidar to pressure her husband. The State opposed her prayer for anticipatory bail. The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to a bail bond of Rs. 500 with two sureties and a condition that the trial court verify her criminal antecedent; if any antecedent is found, the bail would not be confirmed, otherwise it would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the amendment removing deemed possession and presumed offender applies to the petitioner’s case.
- Whether the trial court should verify the petitioner’s criminal antecedent before confirming anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Negotiable Securities Act (BNSS) — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- deemed possession
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- provisional bail
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12648 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-310 Year-2025 Thana- SRINAGAR District- West Champaran
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Rita Devi @ Sunita Devi W/O Bikau Ram Resident of Village- Bagahi
Bagambarpur, Ward No 10, Patgirwa, P.S- Srinagar, Dist.- West Champaran.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr.Ram Kishun Prasad
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr.Gauri Shankar Gupta
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 10-03-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case
registered for the offences punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 19.8 litres of liquor from the house
of the petitioner.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the
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
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the house or the liquor kept in the house was within knowledge
of the petitioner. It is next 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 and
she came to be implicated at the instance of Chowkidar with
whom her husband is on an inimical term. It is also submitted
that in order to coerce her husband into submission, the
chowkidar falsely implicated the petitioner.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner above-named, in the
event of her 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 Srinagar P.S. Case No. 310 of 2025, subject to
the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial Court
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 would be presumed that petitioner, for the purposes of
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seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed her antecedent before this
Court, as such, the provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be
confirmed, but after verification if 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)
Sumit/-
U T
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