Patna High Court
Ravi YadavversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
In the absence of direct possession and with the amendment removing deemed possession, the petitioner is entitled to provisional anticipatory bail, subject to verification of his antecedents.
Summary
Ravi Yadav sought anticipatory bail after the police registered a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018 alleging that liquor was recovered from two other individuals and not from his conscious possession. The petitioner argued that he has a clean antecedent and that the alleged recovery is based solely on a confessional statement made by an accused in police custody, which he contended lacks evidentiary value. He further submitted that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender, weakening the prosecution’s case against him. The State opposed the bail, insisting that the allegations warranted detention. The court, noting the absence of direct possession, the unreliability of the confessional statement, and the statutory removal of deemed possession, granted provisional anticipatory bail for six weeks subject to a modest bond, sureties and verification of the petitioner’s antecedents. The order stipulated that if any prior case is discovered, the bail would not be confirmed, whereas a clean record would lead to immediate confirmation of the bail.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Amendment Act, 2018 in the absence of direct possession.
- Whether the 2018 amendment eliminating deemed possession affects the bail application.
- Whether a confessional statement of an accused in police custody can be relied upon for denying anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- section 30
- deemed possession
- confessional statement
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- clean antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13253 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-588 Year-2023 Thana- Excise P.S. District- Lakhisarai
======================================================
Ravi Yadav Son of Kartik Yadav Resident of Village- Barabad (Kajra More),
P.S. -Madhupur, District -Deoghar, Jharkhand
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shaukat Alam
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Akshay Lal Pandit
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
3 30-03-2026 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 41.7 litres of liquor from possession of Jalandhar
Ram and 48 litres of liquor from possession of Gautam Kumar.
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 Jalandhar and Gautam with
whom he has no concern or relation and he came to be
implicated based on confessional statement of apprehended
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13253 of 2026(3) dt.30-03-2026
2/3
accused in police custody which does not have any evidentiary
value. 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.
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 Excise P.S. Case No.588c2/2023, 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
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed but if
on verification it is found that petitioner is a person with clean
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.13253 of 2026(3) dt.30-03-2026
3/3
antecedent, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
Checking your session…
Lawyer court records for this case
Associated through the court’s case reference.