Patna High Court
Dharmshila DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail was granted subject to a bail bond and verification of the petitioner’s antecedent.
Summary
The petitioner, Dharmshila Devi, sought anticipatory bail after a case was registered under Sections 30(a), 41(1) and 41(2) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act for alleged possession of 5 litres of liquor at her joint family house. She argued that she has a clean antecedent, is a woman, and that the liquor was not recovered from her conscious possession, making it uncertain whether she knew of or kept the liquor. The State opposed the bail, contending that the offence was cognizable. The Court, considering the submissions, directed that she be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedent by the trial court. The order further stipulated that if any antecedent is found, the bail would not be confirmed; otherwise, it would be confirmed forthwith. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted under Section 482(2) in view of the alleged possession of liquor.
- Whether the petitioner can be deemed to have possession or be a presumed offender under the amended Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
- Whether the lack of recovery from her conscious possession and the joint family nature of the property affect the grant of bail.
Legislation cited
- B.N.S.S. — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- excise law
- joint family property
- clean antecedent
- Section 482
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.14108 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-450 Year-2025 Thana- ROSERA District- Samastipur
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Dharmshila Devi W/O Late Rama Paswan R/O Vill.- Mahadev Math Ward
No.12, P.S.- Rosera, Dist- Samastipur
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shashank Shekhar, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Suresh Prasad Singh, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 12-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case registered
for the offences punishable under Sections 30(a), 41(1) and
41(2) of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is person with clean antecedent and is a woman and
allegation is of recovery of 5 litres of liquor from the house of
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 amendment in
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14108 of 2026(2) dt.12-03-2026
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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 local person but
then 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, when petitioner was not
implicated 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.500/- (Rupees Five Hundred) with two sureties of the
like amount each to the satisfaction of learned Exclusive Special
Judge Excise-I, Samastipur in connection with Rosera P.S. Case
No.450 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.14108 of 2026(2) dt.12-03-2026
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the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and in the event, if it is
found that petitioner has antecedent of even 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 is a person with clean antecedent, in that event, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Sanjay/-
U T
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