Patna High Court
Ranjan Gupta @ Ranjan Kumar GuptaversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
Provisional anticipatory bail may be granted subject to verification of the petitioner’s antecedent, and the order will be confirmed if no antecedent is found, otherwise it may be cancelled.
Summary
The petitioner sought anticipatory bail in a case under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, alleging that liquor was recovered from a motorcycle and that he had no conscious possession or ownership of the vehicle. He argued that the only evidence was a confessional statement made by another person in police custody, which he claimed lacked evidentiary value, and that the 2018 amendment to the Act had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, directed that the petitioner be released on provisional anticipatory bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs.500 with two sureties, subject to verification of his criminal antecedent. The court clarified that if any antecedent is found, the bail may be cancelled; otherwise, the provisional order will be confirmed. The application was allowed.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail can be granted where the alleged offence under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act is based solely on a police‑custody confession and no possession is proved.
- Whether the post‑2018 amendment eliminating deemed possession and presumed offender applies to the present case.
- What conditions should be imposed on provisional anticipatory bail, including verification of the petitioner’s criminal antecedent.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- Section 30
- confessional statement
- provisional bail
- criminal antecedent
- deemed possession
- presumed offender
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.14399 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-276 Year-2025 Thana- MANJHI District- Saran
======================================================
Ranjan Gupta @ Ranjan Kumar Gupta Son of Suresh Prasad R/o - Manjhi
Gadh Bazar, P.S - Manjhi, District - Saran
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar Jha, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Navin Kumar Pandey, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 13-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
APP for the State.
2. Petitioner apprehends his arrest in a case registered
for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of Bihar
Prohibition and Excise Act.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner is a person with clean antecedent and allegation is of
recovery of 17.28 litres of liquor from a motorcycle. It is next
submitted that petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such,
nothing was recovered from his conscious possession and is not
the owner of the seized vehicle and came to be implicated based
on confessional statement of Pradeep Kumar 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
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14399 of 2026(2) dt.13-03-2026
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concept of deemed possession and presumed offender has been
done away with.
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 his arrest or surrender before the learned Court below
within a period of six weeks, is directed to be released on
provisional anticipatory bail on his 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 Court of 2 nd
Exclusive Special Excise Judge, Saran at Chapra in connection
with Manjhi P.S. Case No.276 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
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 his antecedent before this Court,
in that event, the present provisional anticipatory bail order shall
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.14399 of 2026(2) dt.13-03-2026
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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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