Patna High Court
Manju DeviversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The Court granted provisional anticipatory bail to the petitioner, subject to bond, sureties and verification of her criminal antecedents.
Summary
Manju Devi, the wife of Ashish Paswan, applied for anticipatory bail fearing arrest in a case registered under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Excise Act and Sections 274, 275 and 3(5) of the Bihar Narcotic Substances Act. She contended that the alleged liquor and fermented mahua were recovered from a jointly owned family house and that she had no conscious possession, relying on the fact that the only evidence against her was her husband’s confessional statement made in police custody. The petitioner also highlighted that the 2018 amendment to the Excise Act had abolished the doctrine of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail on a bond of Rs.20,000 with two sureties, subject to verification of her criminal antecedents; if more than four prior cases are found, the bail would not be confirmed.
Issues considered
- Whether the petitioner is entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 482(2) of the Bihar Criminal Procedure in view of the alleged offences under the Excise Act and Narcotic Substances Act.
- Whether the doctrine of deemed possession applies post‑2018 amendment to the Bihar Excise Act.
- Whether the confessional statement of the husband, made in police custody, can be the sole basis for implicating the petitioner.
Legislation cited
- Bihar Narcotic Substances Act — s. 274, 275, 3(5)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- excise law
- deemed possession
- confessional statement
- joint family property
- criminal antecedent
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.16045 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-173 Year-2025 Thana- BHAIRAVSHTHAN District-
Madhubani
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Manju Devi W/o Ashish Paswan R/o vill - Raiyam, ward no. 13, P.S.-
Bhairavsthan, Distt.- Madhubani
... ... Petitioner
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Baleshwar Kamat, Advocate
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Nityanand, A.P.P.
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 17-03-2026 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner apprehends her arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of the
Bihar Excise Act and Sections 274, 275 and 3(5) of BNS.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner has antecedent of four cases out of which two cases
are under the Excise Act and is a woman and allegation is of
recovery of 10 liters of liquor along with 200 liters of fermented
java mahua from house of Ashish.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that
petitioner was not arrested from the spot, as such, nothing was
recovered from her conscious possession and being wife of
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16045 of 2026(2) dt.17-03-2026
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Ashish, she came to be implicated. It is further submitted that
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 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 based on confessional statement of Ashish in police
custody which does not have any evidentiary value. It is also
submitted once an accused is implicated in a case relating to
Excise, the police starts implicating mechanically either at the
instance of chowkidar, local person, confessional statement or
secret information without holding proper investigation.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer
for anticipatory bail of the petitioner.
6. Considering the submissions made by the
learned counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner above-named, in
the event of her arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks
from today, be released on Provisional anticipatory bail on
furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 20,000/- (Rupees Twenty
Thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the
satisfaction of the learned Trial Court where the case is
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16045 of 2026(2) dt.17-03-2026
3/3
pending/successor court in connection with Bhairavsthan P.S.
Case No. 173 of 2025 subject to the conditions as laid down
under Section 482 (2) of the BNSS.
7. It is made clear that thereafter the learned Trial
Court shall verify the criminal antecedent of the petitioner and
in the event if it is found that petitioner has antecedent of more
than four cases then it would be presumed that petitioner, for the
purposes of seeking anticipatory bail, had concealed his
antecedent before this Court, as such, the provisional
anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed, but after
verification if it is found that petitioner has only four criminal
antecedents, in that event the provisional anticipatory bail order
shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
Gaurav Sinha/-
U T
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