Patna High Court
Samo DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The application for anticipatory bail is allowed, granting provisional bail subject to conditions and verification of antecedents.
Summary
The petitioner, Samo Devi, sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022, alleging that 26.1 litres of liquor was recovered from a jointly‑owned house and that she had no conscious possession. She argued that the liquor could not be attributed to her knowledge or control, especially since the concept of deemed possession had been removed by the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act. The State opposed the bail, contending that the FIR named her based on undisclosed information and that she had a prior excise case. The Court considered the lack of direct possession, the joint‑family ownership, and the statutory change, and directed that she be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond and sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedents. The order further stipulated that if more than one prior case is found, the bail would not be confirmed, but if only one antecedent exists, the provisional bail would be confirmed immediately.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted when the alleged offence involves alleged possession of liquor in a jointly owned house without conscious possession.
- Whether the removal of the deemed‑possession concept under the 2018 amendment affects the prosecution’s case.
- Whether the petitioner’s prior criminal antecedent influences the grant of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2022 — s. 30(a)
- Code of Criminal Procedure — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- possession
- joint family property
- criminal antecedent
- Section 30(a)
- Section 482 CrPC
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.12909 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-147 Year-2025 Thana- NIRMALI District- Supaul
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Samo Devi Wife of Late Raju Paswan Resident of Village and P.S.- Niramli,
Ward No. 09, District- Supaul (Bihar)
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Suresh Mukhiya, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Ms. Sangeeta Sharma, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 10-03-2026 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 has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act and is
a woman and allegation is of recovery of 26.1 litres of liquor
from house of the petitioner. 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 within her knowledge and after
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12909 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026
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amendment in the Excise Act in the year 2018, the concept of
deemed possession and presumed offender has been done away
with and petitioner came to be implicated at the instance of local
person but then the name of the person, who disclosed the name
of the petitioner, is not disclosed in the FIR, which casts an
aspersion on the case of the prosecution since name of the
petitioner has not transpired based on secret information.
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.5,000/- (Rupees Five Thousand) with two sureties of
the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Special
Exclusive Excise Court No.2, Supaul in connection with
Nirmali P.S. Case No.147 of 2025, 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.12909 of 2026(2) dt.10-03-2026
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the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of more than one case, then
it 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 has antecedent of only one case, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
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