Patna High Court
Subodh SahaniversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court conditionally granted provisional anticipatory bail, subject to bond, sureties, and verification of criminal antecedents.
Summary
Subodh Sahani and his wife Lakshminiya Devi sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, where police alleged recovery of 15 litres of liquor near their hut based solely on a confessional statement of a co-accused in custody. The petitioners argued that no liquor was seized from them, the alleged location did not belong to them, and that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail, contending that the allegations warranted detention. The High Court, considering the lack of direct evidence and the questionable reliability of the custodial confession, granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to a Rs.5,000 bond, two sureties, and verification of the petitioners' criminal antecedents. The order further stipulated that if the antecedent verification revealed additional prior cases, the bail would not be confirmed, but if the antecedents were as claimed, the bail would be confirmed forthwith.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act where evidence is limited to a custodial confession.
- Whether the 2018 amendment removing deemed possession and presumed offender concepts affects the bail application.
- Whether the police investigation and seizure of liquor constitute sufficient grounds for arrest.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
- custodial confession
- police investigation
- Section 30
- Section 482
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.13393 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-13 Year-2026 Thana- NAANPUR District- Sitamarhi
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1. Subodh Sahani S/O Parikshan Sahani R/O- Village-Raipur, P.S.- Nannpur,
Dist- Sitamadhi.
2. Lakshminiya Devi W/O Subodh Sahani R/O Village- Raipur, P.S.- Nannpur,
Dist- Sitamadhi
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shashank Shekhar
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Md. Nazir Ansari
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 10-03-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no.1 has antecedent of one case under the Excise Act
and petitioner no.2 is a person with clean antecedent and
allegation is of recovery of 15 litres of liquor from a place near
the hut of petitioner no.1. It is next submitted that petitioners
were not arrested from the spot as such nothing was recovered
from their conscious possession and even alleged recovery is
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from a place which does not belong to the petitioners but then is
adjacent to the house of petitioner no.1 and they came to be
implicated based on confessional statement of Dipu in police
custody which does 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 next submitted that once an
accused is implicated in a case relating to excise, the police
starts implicating mechanically either through chowkidar, local
person, confessional statement or secret information without
holding a proper investigation.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks
from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on
furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5000/- (Rupees five thousand) each
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 Nanpur P.S. Case No.13/2026, subject to the
conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of the B.N.S.S.
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6. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial court
thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners
and in the event if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent
of more than one case and petitioner no.2 has antecedent of even
one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioners
had concealed their antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed with
but if after verification it is found that petitioner no.1 has
antecedent of one case and petitioner no.2 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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